


The Consequences Of Wrath

by Aeshna_cyanea



Series: The Consequences Of Wrath [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angel wings pretty, Angst, Demon face awesome, Drama, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Fun with wings, Hurt/Comfort, Maze is a naughty demon, Poker fiend Trixie, Protective Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Protective Mazikeen (Lucifer TV), Smut, Temporary Character Death, Trixie finds out, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-11-22 11:31:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11379318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeshna_cyanea/pseuds/Aeshna_cyanea
Summary: When Amenadiel finds Maze in his bed with a demon dagger in hand, poised to strike him down, he lets his wrath consume him. His actions have far-reaching consequences.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set during episode 1.12 #TeamLucifer, and going AU from there.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amenadiel gives in to his rage, and Lucifer is forced to take desperate measures.

For just an instant, as Amenadiel grabbed her wrist with unbreakable strength, Maze felt nothing but relief. Relief that she wouldn't have to go through with it. The moment of decision had passed, and it was out of her hands now. And then she saw the murderous rage spread across his face.  
  
"You traitorous bitch!"  
  
He ripped the dagger out of her hand, and then backhanded her with enough force to send her flying across the room until she slammed into the wall. Pain exploded across her back and black spots danced before her eyes. Fear shot through her as she frantically tried to clear her head and brace herself for his next attack. When she managed to focus on him again, he was pacing on the other side of the bed, and still speaking.  
  
"-filthy demon." He turned to her. "My brother put you up to this, didn't he? He sent his demon whore to seduce me, distract me, and keep me from sending him back to Hell where he belongs. He's going to pay for this."  
  
His hand flexed around her knife. "I'm going to make him pay."  
  
And with the usual whoosh of wings, he was gone.  
  
For a moment, Maze lay there, still reeling from the blow. Horror filled her. He had her knife, and he was going to kill Lucifer with it. Frantic desperation pushed her to her feet. She had to stop him. She had to save her Lord.  
  
****  
  
The scene that greeted her when she burst into the penthouse made the blood freeze in her veins. Lucifer was lying on the ground, bruised and bloodied, his hands raised in a defensive gesture. Amenadiel was standing above him, one arm raised, the demon knife in his hand, just about to plunge it into his brother's chest.  
  
With an inarticulate cry, Maze threw herself between them, shielding her Lord with her body, just as the blade descended. It caught her in the stomach, slicing into her deeply, tearing through her flesh with ease. Pain seared her nerves, squeezing her chest and constricting her throat until merciful blackness enveloped her.  
  
****  
  
Lucifer remained frozen in horror for a second, trying to comprehend what just happened. When he had first seen the demon dagger in his brother's hand, an almost physical pain had shot through him. His first thought had been that Maze had betrayed him a second time, but he had dismissed it almost immediately. Even if she had sided with Amenadiel again, she would never have given him one of her knives.  
  
No, the only way his brother could have gotten it was by taking it from her by force. And that meant his demon was most likely either injured or dead. That last thought made his heart constrict painfully. Rather than dwell on the horrible possibility, he let his rage boil up and attacked. It had felt good, but in the end the rage had made him sloppy, and he found himself on the ground, about to be killed.  
  
And just as he was about to accept the inevitable, out of nowhere, his demon had appeared and saved his ass by sacrificing herself, taking the blow meant for him. He felt her body slump against him, smelled her blood. Horror filled him. And then the rage overcame him once again.  
  
Amenadiel, too, had frozen for a moment, staring down at his hand and the horrible wound he had inflicted. Looking up, he caught his brother's gaze. What he saw there made him release the knife and back away.  
  
Lucifer's face had taken on its full hellish aspect. He slid out from beneath Maze' body as carefully as possible, and then went after his brother with a snarl. A flick of his fingers summoned a demon knife of his own into his hand. With a scream of rage, he threw himself at the other man and rammed the dagger into his stomach.  
  
Amenadiel cried out in pain and fell back, desperately clutching at the wound. For an instant, Lucifer was tempted to push the knife into his brother's heart and truly end his existence. But the conditioning of an immortal lifetime held, and instead he drew back his arm and slashed horizontally, slitting Amenadiel's throat.  
  
He watched in grim satisfaction as his brother dropped to his knees, choking as the blood spurted from the broad cut. Crouching down, he caught the exact moment when the life went out of the body, leaving behind an empty shell.  
  
A pained gasp from behind him brought his attention back to his demon. Dropping his knife, he rushed to her side. One glance told him that her injury was fatal. The dagger had ripped a deep, gaping wound into her stomach, and it was bleeding profusely. Looking into her eyes, he could see that she knew it, too.  
  
"Mazikeen."  It came out as a broken whisper.  
  
"Shhh, it's okay." She smiled wryly, despite the pain. "Always knew you'd be the death of me one day. At least I saved your ass one last time."  
  
Tears prickled in his eyes as he looked down on her. His demon. His loyal companion for so many millennia. The only one who had always been there for him, had given him comfort when even his own family had shunned and vilified him. She alone knew all of him, knew the full extent of his dark side, and still stood by him, still cared for him. And now he was losing her. She was dying, and for a soulless demon that meant the end of her entire existence. No afterlife to pass on to. And there was nothing he could do, no way for him to save her. He didn't have the power to heal her wound.  
  
Lucifer cursed himself bitterly for burning his wings. Just a single one of his feathers would have enough divine power to repair all the damage the demon dagger had inflicted. But they were all gone.  
  
Suddenly, Maze grasped his wrist with surprising strength, drawing his attention back to her. She was staring at him intently, gasping for breath, trying desperately to stay conscious as she forced out words with great urgency.  
  
"My room... safe... box... feather." He realized that he must have spoken aloud. Her grasp loosened as her strength drained away. She managed to whisper one last word before she lost consciousness. "Hurry."  
  
Lucifer raced to her room with all his supernatural speed. Hope burned inside him, hope that he had understood her correctly, that somehow there was a way for him to save her after all. The wall safe above the head of her bed opened easily to his touch, and there, on top of various legal documents, sat a small silver box. He flipped open the lid and stared for a split second at the contents: a single, small, pure white feather that glowed softly with a beautiful golden light.  
  
He snatched it up with complete disregard for its seeming fragility, and ran back to the living room. Maze was lying there, unconscious but still alive, if only barely so. He knelt beside her, placed the feather on the gaping wound, and carefully pressed down on it with his hand.  
  
Almost immediately, he felt the feather warm up as it began to release its energy. But instead of going into his demon and healing her, the divine power began to seep into him, trying to unite with the divinity he carried. With an effort of will, Lucifer pushed against it, forcing it back. The energy struggled against him as if it had a mind of its own, refusing to enter Maze's body, to mesh with her demonic essence.  
  
Lucifer snarled as he increased his efforts, using every shred of his own power to force the energy to do his bidding. He could not, would not fail. Failure meant he would lose his demon forever, and that was unthinkable. Slowly, gradually, he managed to force some of the energy into Maze, making it repair the torn flesh. But the process was too slow, the struggle too hard for him to sustain long enough. A lot of the power was still trying to flow into him, and quite a bit of it was succeeding.  
  
In desperation, he stopped fighting and let the energy flow into him. Instead, he pulled on his own inner power and pushed it out along the path opened by the feather, and into his demon. It worked. The effort of doing so was considerably smaller, and without the distraction of the struggle, he could concentrate on controlling the flow, directing it  carefully to heal the worst damage first. Once the wound was rapidly closing, he focused his attention on all the other injuries he could sense.  
  
The energy was still reluctant to bond with his demon, so he increased his efforts, drawing more and more power out of himself and forcing it into every cell of her body. At the same time, he could feel some of it flowing back into him, together with the energy that was still being released by the feather. Gradually, the two streams formed a circuit, flowing smoothly through both of them, faster and faster until it all became too much.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maze and Lucifer are both protective in their own way, and there is a mess to be dealt with.

When awareness returned, Lucifer found himself lying on his side next to his demon, his hand still resting on her stomach. He pulled himself up and frantically checked her over, terrified that it hadn't worked, or not been enough. With immeasurable relief, he found that while Maze was still unconscious, she was breathing slowly and regularly, and her heartbeat was steady and strong. When he lifted his hand, there was no trace left of the wound except for the blood smeared over her otherwise unblemished skin.  
  
Lucifer drew in a deep breath and let it out as a long sigh. Halfway through it turned into a sob. And once that first one was out, he couldn't stop. All the shock, fear and panic finally caught up with him and poured out in a flood. He collapsed forward, ending up with his face pressed to Maze's stomach, heedless of the blood that immediately coated his skin. His tears were falling fast now, only increasing the mess.  
  
A hand gently stroking his hair broke the spell. Lifting his head, he found Maze looking down at him with a soft smile.  
  
"Hey."  
  
His voice was rough as he answered. "Are you alright? Did it work? Any pain left?"  
  
Her gaze became unfocused for a moment, and he could see her body moving minutely as she checked herself for any leftover injuries. Then she smiled at him once more.  
  
"No pain. It worked. I'm alright."  
  
She tried to sit up, only to fall back immediately. Lucifer caught her in his arms before her head could hit the floor. He stared at her in concern.  
  
"Maze?"  
  
His demon gave an annoyed huff. "I'm okay. Just weak. Pathetically weak."  
  
Lucifer sighed in relief and hugged her closer before replying. "You are not pathetic. And I guess we shouldn't be surprised that you're not quite up to strength yet. You almost died, and you lost a lot of blood. I managed to repair the damage, but your body needs time to replace the blood, and to recover from it all."  
  
Maze looked up at him questioningly. "What exactly do you mean by 'it all'?"  
  
"Apparently, divine energy doesn't like to mix with demonic one. I basically had to force it into you. You're probably feeling the after-effects of that, too."  
  
"Ah. That explains why you look like you've been dragged through hell." His demon was smirking slightly.  
  
"Ha ha. Guess we're a matching pair." He glanced down at their disheveled, bloodied appearances and grimaced. "Let's go get cleaned up."  
  
Maze cast a look around the room. "No."  
  
When Lucifer stared at her in surprise, she explained: "We need to clean up in here first."  
  
"That can wait until later."  
  
"No." Her tone was firm. "We can't risk someone coming in here and finding this mess. With our luck, it'll be your pet detective, and she's likely to jump to some nasty conclusions."  
  
That thought made the devil wince. "True, especially since she already suspects me of being somehow involved in our latest murder case."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Long story, I'll tell you later. But you're right, we can't let anyone stumble in here. So, what do we do?" He looked at her expectantly, after all, she was the one who usually dealt with these types of mess. Maze replied immediately.  
  
"First, we need to make sure nobody can come in here. Lock down the place."  
  
Seeing his confused look, she rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the lockdown code for the security system."  
  
Lucifer smiled ruefully. "Actually, I'm not sure I ever knew it in the first place."  
  
Before Maze could make any no doubt scathing comment about that, he lifted her up and carried her over to the security panel next to the elevator. She shot him a look, but quickly entered the code and confirmed it. Immediately, heavy metal shutters slid down over all the windows. A series of beeps, clicking sounds from the glass doors leading to the balcony, as well as a heavier clank from the elevator doors, announced that the lockdown was successful.  
  
"Alright, now let's see about cleaning up the mess."  
  
As Lucifer turned back to the room, Maze gave a gasp of surprise. Following her gaze, he couldn't see at first what had caused it. Then he realized that his brother's corpse was gone. The only things left to indicate that it had been there were the large amount of spattered blood, a rather small heap of dust, and the bloodstained demon knife. Maze broke the silence first.  
  
"Well, that's certainly convenient. Probably the only useful thing he's ever done."  
  
Lucifer snorted at that, but he had to agree. "Well, now that this particular problem has taken care of itself, what's next?"  
  
"We need to clean up the blood." She sighed. "Or rather you need to clean up the blood, since I'm too weak to do anything."  
  
He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Wrong. You can supervise me, and tell me what to do."  
  
That brought a smile to his demon's face. Lucifer headed over to the couch, intending to set her down there and make her comfortable before he went to work. But when she realized his intention, Maze stopped him.  
  
"Don't!" At his questioning look, she explained. "I'm all bloody. If you set me down on the couch, you'll have to clean that up, too."  
  
She thought for a moment. "Take me to the bathroom and put me down there. I can stay there while you deal with the mess here."  
  
He quickly complied and carried her into the master bathroom. There, Maze insisted on being put down in the shower, once again reasoning that this was the best solution from a cleanup point of view. The only thing that stopped Lucifer from arguing with her was the evident exhaustion on her face. He was very glad that his shower had a broad, comfortable bench in it, though. Once Maze was settled down there and had given him detailed instructions, he returned to the living room and got to work cleaning up.  
  
****  
  
It took a while, but he finally managed to remove all the blood and the dust that was all that remained of his brother's body. The two demon knives were cleaned and put away safely. Satisfied that all that remained as evidence of the fight were the ruins of the bar and the missing glass panel between the living room and his library, he returned to the bathroom.  
  
Maze was leaning against the wall of the shower, her eyes closed, more than half asleep. She roused herself when he came in.  
  
"All done?"  
  
"Yes. Time to clean ourselves up and then get some rest."  
  
With that, Lucifer quickly shed his ruined clothes, and then stepped into the shower and proceeded to undress his demon. Maze did her best to help, but even though she seemed to have recovered slightly, she was still too weak to stand up. Thankfully, he had more than enough experience with undressing others, and soon her clothes had joined his in a heap on the floor.  
  
He turned on the shower, carefully adjusting the temperature until it was just the way both he and his demon preferred it, and then scrubbed himself down quickly but thoroughly before turning his attention to her.  
  
Lucifer took his time, turning the process of washing Maze's body into an act of something close to worship. His touches were gentle, caressing her even as he watched carefully for any signs of discomfort. There were none. Maze remained passive throughout, letting him do all the work. Perhaps she sensed that he needed this. She relaxed under his ministrations, a soft smile on her face letting him know she enjoyed what he was doing.  
  
Finally, Lucifer shut off the shower and dried them both off before wrapping them up in warm, fluffy towels. He sat Maze down on a stool and took a few moments to comb out her hair, gently teasing out any tangles and making certain it fell onto her shoulders in soft waves.  
  
When he moved to pick her up once again, she stopped him yet again.  
  
"You need to deal with the clothes first."  
  
Lucifer sighed. "Alright. What do you want me to do with them?"  
  
"Take the whole lot to the laundry room, stuff it into the washing machine, pour in a bottle of bleach and start a program, doesn't matter which one."  
  
"But why? The clothes are ruined anyway, and washing them with bleach is certainly not going to save them!"  
  
Maze growled impatiently. "We aren't trying to save them, we're trying to destroy forensic evidence! So kindly shut up and do what I said."  
  
His indignant protests died on his lips as he noticed the way she was swaying slightly, keeping herself upright with a tight grip on the counter. Wordlessly, he did as she asked as fast as he could, and then picked her up in his arms once more and carried her into his bedroom.  
  
Maze was asleep almost before her head touched the pillow. Lucifer carefully removed the towel and covered her with the comforter before climbing into bed himself. At first he simply settled beside her, lying on his side. He quickly realized that this was not enough, though. No matter how tired he was after everything that had happened, every time he closed his eyes, he found himself opening them again within minutes, needing to see her to know she was still there.  
  
Finally, he moved closer to her and gently pulled her into his arms, turning slightly so he ended up lying on his back with Maze pressed against his side, her head resting on his shoulder. Even fast asleep as she was, his demon reacted to his presence. Instinctively, she sought out more contact, sliding one leg over his and wrapping an arm around him. A deep warmth filled him at that, and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before closing his eyes and finally sinking into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The outside world intrudes, and Maze stands up for Lucifer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: all I know about legal procedures or police work comes from watching TV shows, so please excuse any glaring errors or inaccuracies.

It seemed like no time at all had passed when an insistent ringing noise woke him up again. A quick glance showed him that Maze was still asleep. The noise stopped, and Lucifer was just about to let out a sigh of relief when it started up again. He recognized the ringtone as belonging to the internal connection with the club downstairs. Since his staff knew better than to call him if it wasn't important, something serious had to have happened. Damn. He had to do something about it before it woke up his demon.   
  
He carefully shifted Maze until she was lying comfortably next to him, relieved that he managed to do so without waking her. Then he swiftly got out of bed and tracked the phone down in the living room.  
  
"This had better be a matter of life and death."  
  
"Unfortunately, it is, boss." Lucifer immediately recognized the voice of Lux's senior bouncer. "Someone shot that preacher, the one you had an argument with today. His body's lying right here next to the bar. And the cops are here already. Your detective came in just when I found him. Her ex and some other cops are here, too."  
  
"Bloody hell." Lucifer dragged a hand over his face. Could this day get any worse?  
  
"Boss, they want to arrest you for murder! I've already called Cheryl, she's on her way."  
  
Lucifer smiled at that. Cheryl was his lawyer. "Good man."  
  
"I don't know if she'll be here in time, though. They're talking about shooting open the doors to the penthouse."  
  
"Let them try. Just make sure you and the rest of the staff are safely out of the way."   
  
The devil was smirking now. Both the door of the emergency staircase and the elevator doors could easily withstand normal gunfire and even the standard lock-busters used by the LAPD. They would need a SWAT team to break into the penthouse while the lockdown was engaged. Thank Hell for his demon's paranoia. Maze had been the one who insisted on the installation of the security system.  
  
A commotion in the background on the other end of the line drew his attention. Several people were arguing, and then one voice cut through the din, clearly audible even at his end. "What the hell is going on here?!"  
  
He chuckled. "I hear that Cheryl has arrived. Excellent. We'll let her get acquainted with the situation. Give me a call when she wants to speak with me."  
  
"Will do, boss."  
  
With that, the call was cut off.   
  
Knowing that it wouldn't be long before his lawyer was ready to speak with him, Lucifer used the wait time to return to his bedroom and check on Maze. She was still fast asleep. He took a moment to adjust the comforter and brush a strand of hair out of her face. Hopefully, he and Cheryl would be able to handle this mess without disturbing her.   
  
Just as he stepped back out into the living room, the phone rang once again.   
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Lucifer."  
  
"Cheryl my dear, it's lovely to hear your voice. What's the verdict?"  
  
"This whole thing is a bloody mess. The accusations against you are frankly ridiculous and completely baseless. As far as I can tell right now, it's all nothing more than wild speculation, not a single piece of actual evidence."  
  
"Of course not, since I didn't do it."  
  
"I know. And we'll soon have that cleared up. But in the meantime, it would be advisable if you could make an official statement to the detectives, and perhaps answer a few questions."  
  
"No. I am not in the mood to talk to any detectives right now."   
  
"Lucifer..."  
  
"Which detectives are we talking about, by the way?"  
  
"Decker and Espinoza."  
  
"Seriously? My partner and her soon-to-be ex-husband?"  
  
"Really? In that case, I strongly recommend that you talk to them. It'll only be to our advantage later."   
  
Lucifer could practically hear her predatory smile. It made him chuckle.  
  
"Ah. I think I see what you mean. Conflict of interest. Police persecution. Abuse of police power out of base motives."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Very well. I will talk to them. I'll unlock the doors and you and the detectives can come up. Just the three of you, mind you. I'm not having half the LAPD tramping around up here."  
  
"That should be acceptable. Give me a moment." There was a short pause before Cheryl spoke again. "They've agreed."  
  
"Good. I'm unlocking the elevator now. See you in a minute."  
  
With that, he ended the call and stepped over to the security panel to enter the code and end the lockdown. As soon as this was done, he went to the bedroom to check on Maze once more. She was still sleeping and hadn't moved at all. Satisfied that she was comfortable, he slipped on his dressing gown. Temping though it was to confront the detectives in the nude, Cheryl would certainly prefer it if he didn't.  
  
As he returned to the living room, the elevator doors opened to reveal the three humans. His lawyer stepped out first, coming over to him immediately and greeting him warmly.   
  
"Lucifer, it's good to see you, even under these circumstances."  
  
"And I am certainly happy to see you, too, my dear. Now, let's get this over with as quickly as possible."   
  
With that, he turned his attention to the two detectives, who had clearly used the time to look around and take in the destruction. Given their almost identical deeply suspicious looks, Lucifer was very glad that Maze had made him clean up the incriminating evidence. The Douche rallied first.  
  
"What the hell happened here?"  
  
"That's none of your business." Lucifer replied icily.   
  
Before he or the Douche could say anything else, Cheryl stepped in.  
  
"Mr. Morningstar has agreed to give a statement and answer some of your questions, as long as they pertain to the recent homicides. His private affairs are at this point not relevant to the proceedings, and therefore off limits. Now, I suggest that you act with the professional decorum befitting an officer of the law, so we can get this rather unpleasant business over with as quickly as possible."  
  
The Douche was clearly ready to voice his protest, but Decker stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder and glaring at him. Once he subsided, she gave Lucifer and Cheryl a curt nod. The devil accepted this as his cue to begin.  
  
"Right. From what Cheryl told me, I am now considered a suspect in the killings of Rose Davis and Mike Carey. I want to state absolutely unequivocally that I have nothing whatsoever to do with these murders. I did not order them, or encourage them, or in any way indicate that I would approve of them. I most certainly did not commit them. As far as I am concerned, these murders are atrocities committed against innocents, and whoever perpetrated them deserves the worst punishments Hell can provide. And of course the full force of the law, such as it is."  
  
That earned him a snort from Detective Douche, but he went on before the man could interrupt.  
  
"As for the body that was found downstairs, I had nothing to do with that, either. If it is indeed the man I had an argument with earlier today, I have no idea how he has come to be here, and who killed him. I last saw him during that argument on the sidewalk, and there are numerous witnesses who saw me leaving him there, alive and unharmed."  
  
At this, the Douche couldn't hold back any longer.  
  
"So you get into a pretty violent argument with the guy and threaten him, and then he turns up dead right here in your club, and you expect us to believe that this is just a coincidence? Bullshit. He came after you, accused you of killing those kids, and you shot him!"  
  
"Ah, yes, another example of your usual deductive brilliance. It's a mystery to me how you ever manage to solve a case." With that, he dismissed the man from his mind and turned his attention to his partner. "And what about you, Detective Decker? Do you share his opinion?"  
  
Seeing the suspicion, doubt and mistrust on her face, his expression hardened. She clearly noticed, and immediately looked guilty.   
  
"Lucifer-"  
  
She didn't get any further before a new voice interrupted her.  
  
"If you actually believe the bullshit your ex is spouting, then you are even more foolish than I thought. Lucifer would never murder a bunch of innocent idiots, no matter the provocation."  
  
Maze was leaning with feigned nonchalance in the doorway to his bedroom, completely naked and with a look of icy disdain on her face as she glared at the detective. It warmed Lucifer's heart and made him smile, even as he noticed the tiny signs of strain in her, undetectable to anybody who didn't know her as well as he did. He quickly went over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her stay upright without making it obvious.  
  
"Maze, my darling, you shouldn't be up. You need to rest."   
  
"I'm not letting these idiots arrest you for something you didn't do."  
  
Her tone was fierce, determination shining in her eyes. Oh how he loved seeing her like this. Even as she'd answered him, she had not taken her attention off the humans in the living room. She now addressed them directly once more.  
  
"You said there's a dead body downstairs. Where exactly?"  
  
When neither of the detectives answered, Cheryl spoke up.   
  
"Right next to the bar."  
  
"In that case, it should be easy enough to find out what really happened."  
  
Maze turned her attention to Lucifer. "Could you bring me my laptop from my room, please? It's in the black leather case on my desk. Just bring the whole case, please."  
  
When he merely raised an inquiring eyebrow, she smiled softly at him. "Trust me?"  
  
He smiled in reply. "Of course, my darling. On one condition. I want you to go back to bed and rest."  
  
"Lucifer..."  
  
"Mazikeen. Humor me? Please."  
  
Grumbling under her breath, Maze allowed him to guide her back to the bed and lay back down. When he started fussing over her, fluffing up her pillow and drawing up the comforter, she gave him a gentle shove.  
  
"I'm lying down. Now go get."  
  
In response, Lucifer grinned, lifted up her hand, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.  
  
"As you wish."  
  
Then he quickly jumped out of the way of another shove, and went to do her bidding.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maze is a naughty demon, and once again saves Lucifer's ass. And Lucifer makes a promise.

The moment he had left the room, Maze turned her attention back on the humans in the living room. She glared briefly at the two detectives, and then turned to Cheryl, greeting her with a smile and a nod.  
  
"Cheryl."  
  
"Mazikeen."  
  
The lawyer returned her smile and came over to her. When the other two started to follow, Maze gave them a death glare that made them freeze in their tracks. This made Cheryl chuckle in amusement. She stepped up into the bedroom and, after a gesture of invitation from the demon, sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Are you alright?" The concern was obvious in the lawyer's voice.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Seeing the polite disbelief on the other woman's face, Maze felt compelled to elaborate. "Had a little stomach upset. Lucifer is being overprotective."  
  
"Well, if you want my advice, enjoy it while it lasts and let him take care of you for a change. You certainly deserve to have someone pamper you, and forgive me for being blunt, but you do look like you could do with a bit of rest."  
  
Maze smiled at that. "Thanks, I think I'll do that. Not that he'll give me much of a choice in the matter."  
  
Cheryl just grinned at this, well aware of Lucifer's stubborn streak.  
  
Before either of them could continue their conversation, Maze's attention was drawn to the two humans in the living room. Decker was glowering at her and muttering under her breath.  
  
"You got something to say, Detective?" Maze challenged her.  
  
The other woman replied with poisonous sweetness. "I was just wondering why you were in Lucifer's bed, and not your own, if you are supposed to be resting."  
  
"Oh, that's simple. After our little shower together he wanted to get me to bed quickly, and his was closer." She practically purred, giving the detective a smirk that clearly implied that none of the described activities had been innocent.  
  
"And besides, his bed is very comfortable. Absolutely wonderful for resting." Her smirk turned malicious as she continued, "But I'm sure you know that. After all, you spent a whole night in it not so long ago."  
  
As she had expected, this got an immediate reaction from the Douche. He angrily confronted his ex-wife, whose protestations sounded weak and phony even to Maze's ears, despite her knowing quite well that nothing had happened between the woman and the devil.  
  
Lucifer chose this moment to return with Maze's laptop.  
  
****  
  
The devil took in the way the couple in the living room was arguing, while his demon was watching with a smirk on her face, and his lawyer looked on in amusement. Shaking his head, he joined the latter two, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.  
  
"Maze my darling, have you been a naughty demon again?"  
  
She grinned up at him unrepentantly. "Always. You going to punish me for it?"  
  
He chuckled at the way she fluttered her eyelashes outrageously.  
  
"Maybe later."  
  
He presented her laptop case to her with a flourish, and she took it from him eagerly. When she struggled to sit up, he quickly slid onto the bed behind her, leaning back against the headboard. Reaching for her, he pulled Maze gently back against him, until she was sitting between his legs, her back resting comfortably against his chest. She quickly started up her laptop.  
  
Lucifer groaned when he saw which application she was opening. "Of course."  
  
Maze just chuckled. When Cheryl gave them both a questioning look, Lucifer explained.  
  
"CCTV records. We have several cameras covering the main area of the club, including one right over the bar."  
  
"They run all the time?"  
  
"Yes. Maze had our head of security set it up that way, she thought it might come in handy someday."  
  
"And I was right."  
  
The devil didn't need to see his demon's face to know that she was grinning smugly. Turning his attention back to the laptop, he saw that she had pulled up the relevant recording and paused it. Before he could ask her to show it to him, she leaned over and opened the drawer of the nightstand, fishing around in it for a moment before pulling out a remote control.  
  
At the press of a button, a large flat screen TV began to descend from the ceiling. Once it was lowered completely, Maze lost no time transferring the signal from her laptop to it. When everything was set up to her satisfaction, she called out to the two detectives in the living room, who were still arguing.  
  
"Hey! Want to see your murderer?"  
  
That got their attention, and they came over. Lucifer noted with amusement the sour look that appeared on Detective Decker's face as she caught sight of him and his demon, all snuggled up on the bed together.  
  
With a nod of her head, Maze directed everybody's attention to the TV. "Watch."  
  
For a few moments, the recording showed only the empty club. Then the preacher appeared and cautiously moved towards the bar, clearly unsure of himself. He had just reached it when Detective Malcolm Graham showed up. The two of them quickly got into an argument, which ended with Graham pulling out a gun and shooting the preacher right between the eyes. He then wiped down the gun before dropping it, and then left the scene.  
  
The moment the recording showed Malcolm shooting the preacher, Lucifer had turned his attention to the two detectives. Both reacted with shock, but he noted with interest that the Douche turned pale and swallowed hard several times. That struck him as strange, after all the man was a homicide detective with some experience. He had certainly seen much worse. Detective Decker, on the other hand, quickly recovered from the initial shock, and a familiar look of grim determination settled on her face.  
  
"We need that recording."  
  
"Not without a warrant."  
  
Maze and Cheryl had spoken simultaneously. Before the detective could start arguing with them, Lucifer stepped in.  
  
"I think what the detective meant to say was that she would appreciate it if we could provide her with a copy of the piece of recording we have just watched." He turned to his lawyer. "Surely it would be possible for us to hand such a copy over to the authorities without going through the tedious formalities of an official warrant?"  
  
Cheryl considered the question for a moment before replying.  
  
"Yes, that would be possible."  
  
"Excellent. Maze, could you-" He stopped when his demon held out an USB stick.  
  
"Everything we just watched is on it. If they want more, they'll have to get the warrant."  
  
"Of course. Thank you, my darling."  
  
Lucifer leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his demon's cheek, just as Detective Decker stepped up to them to take the stick. Maze tilted her head slightly to give him better access, and he seized the opportunity to plant a row of kisses along her jawline, and then nip gently at her earlobe. That drew a contented hum from her, and earned them another sour look from the detective.  
  
With a smirk, Lucifer turned his attention back to the humans.  
  
"Well, now that my innocence in this latest murder is proven beyond any doubt, I expect you have better things to do than stare at my demon and me all day."  
  
His smirk broadened when the Douche hastily averted his eyes from where he had indeed been staring at Maze's bare breasts, which were on full display since the comforter had slipped down to her lap.  
  
"You're not coming with us?"  
  
He raised a surprised eyebrow at Detective Decker's question.  
  
"Surely the forces of the LAPD can manage to apprehend one of their own without my assistance?"  
  
"But what about our case?"  
  
"If I recall correctly, you suggested that I step down from the investigation since I was supposedly involved in the case somehow. None of the facts that led to that decision have changed. Besides, I think if you do a bit of digging, you'll find that dear old Malcolm is the one who committed those killings, too. I noticed a smear of what looks suspiciously like red paint on his hand in the CCTV recording, and everybody at the scene was wearing gloves."  
  
"You managed to see that on the recording?" The Douche sounded incredulous.  
  
Lucifer just smiled a decidedly unfriendly smile. "I'm good at noticing small details like that. And our CCTV is fully HD. I'm sure your technicians will find it very easy to verify my observation."  
  
Decker spoke up before they could get into another argument. "You're really not going to come with us and help?"  
  
"No." Lucifer pointedly turned his attention back to the woman leaning against his chest. He let his gaze come to rest on her frankly magnificent breasts, and purred: "I have other things to do."  
  
That got him the expected reaction. Decker stomped off in a huff, dragging her ex-husband along with her. Cheryl gave an amused chuckle, drawing the devil's attention to his lawyer. She got up and addressed him. "I'm going to go along with them and take care of the formalities. I'll keep you informed, and you'll let me know if there's anything else I need to know about or take care of."  
  
"Of course. Thank you for your quick assistance here, Cheryl. You were a great help, as always."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
She stepped up to the head of the bed.  
  
"Mazikeen." Bending forward, Cheryl pressed a quick kiss to the other woman's cheek and gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze.  
  
Maze replied with a smile and a nod. "Cheryl."  
  
The lawyer then turned to him.  
  
"Lucifer."  
  
He, too, received a kiss to the cheek and a friendly squeeze of the shoulder. When she pulled back, Cheryl locked eyes with him and nodded towards his demon.  
  
"Take good care of her. She deserves to have someone look after her for a change."  
  
Lucifer smiled fondly. "Yes, she does. And I will do my best, I promise."  
  
Maze turned her head and gave them both a look that the devil decided to interpret as fond exasperation. "I'm right here, you know."  
  
Cheryl just grinned and straightened up, waving goodbye to them as she headed over to the elevator, where the two detectives were waiting with ill-concealed impatience. All three stepped into the elevator, leaving the devil alone with his demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that I will address the consequences of using the feather. Just not in the next chapter, because Lucifer and Maze had their own ideas about what should happen next. 
> 
> This story also is nowhere near finished. I plan to follow canon all the way to the end of the season 1 finale with this one. If I can get it to work the way I want to.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer does his best to keep his promise and look after Maze, but she makes it hard for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: tooth-rottingly sweet fluff. And explicit smut. Maze's fault. ;)

Once the elevator doors had closed on the three humans, Lucifer turned his full attention on Maze.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
She sighed before answering. "Still pathetically weak."  
  
"You're still not pathetic, my darling. You managed to save my ass again. That's the second time today. Definitely impressive. So, apart from not being up to your usual strength yet, how do you feel?"  
  
"Tired." Maze's stomach took that moment to growl loudly, making Lucifer chuckle.  
  
"And hungry, apparently. Do you want me to order something, or should I just see what I can scrounge up in the kitchen?"  
  
"Something from the kitchen should be fine. I don't want to wait for takeout."  
  
"Alright."  
  
He carefully slid out from behind her, and then arranged a few pillows so she could settle back comfortably.  
  
"I'll be right back."   
  
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips before making his way to the kitchen.  
  
A quick survey of the contents of the fridge turned up a nice, ripe cantaloupe melon and some excellent prosciutto to go with it. He also found a small block of cheddar, which he knew Maze liked. Searching through the cupboards, he discovered a package of salted crackers that would make a good accompaniment to the cheese.   
  
He quickly sliced up the cantaloupe and arranged it on a plate with the prosciutto, put the cheddar and crackers on another plate, then placed both on a tray, together with some cutlery and a few napkins. Surveying the results, he decided that it was too meager a feast for the two of them.  
  
A second look into the fridge turned up a tub of Greek yogurt, into which he stirred a generous amount of honey. An apple, a pear, a peach and some grapes joined the bowl with the yogurt on the tray. Finally, he added two glasses, a bottle of water, and a carton of Maze's favorite pomegranate juice.  
  
He carried his loot back to the bedroom and carefully set the tray down on the empty side of the bed. After reclaiming his former place and making sure Maze was once again sitting comfortably between his legs with her back pressed against him, he lifted the tray and placed it in front of them, resting on their legs. When his demon reached for the food, he playfully slapped her hand away.  
  
"Nuh-uh. I promised to take care of you, so I'm going to do all the work here. Just tell me what you want and I'll get it for you."  
  
Maze turned her head and glared at him with a mix of incredulity and outrage. Lucifer responded by giving her his best puppy dog eyes. Muttering a few highly uncomplimentary things under her breath, his demon gave in and let him have his way.  
  
"I'd like some of that melon. Please."  
  
He immediately cut off a piece of one of the melon slices, added some prosciutto, and then lifted the fork and waited patiently until Maze opened her mouth and let him feed it to her. She hummed in pleasure at the taste.  
  
"More."  
  
Lucifer quickly prepared another bite for her, and then snatched one for himself. Together they made short work of the cantaloupe.  
  
"Would you like some cheddar with a cracker next?"  
  
"Yes, please."  
  
He quickly cut a slice off the block of cheese, placed it on a cracker, and held it out to her. Maze pulled it from his fingers at once, her lips brushing his fingertips as she did so. After several more crackers with cheese were consumed in the same way, she held up a hand.  
  
"Thirsty. Can I have some juice?"  
  
"Of course, my darling."  
  
Lucifer quickly filled one of the glasses with pomegranate juice. Maze grabbed it immediately, and growled at him when he tried to take it from her. With a soft laugh, he admitted defeat and let her drink on her own. Once she had set down the empty glass, he presented her with the next cracker. They continued in this way until she had eaten all the cheese, with the devil taking only a few crackers for himself.  
  
"Some fruit for dessert?"  
  
"The grapes, please."  
  
"With yogurt?"  
  
"No, let's save that for the other stuff."  
  
Obligingly, Lucifer plucked a grape from its stem and popped it into Maze's open mouth before picking one for himself. Once they had finished all of them, his demon picked up the apple and handed it to him. He quickly cut out a thin slice. After carefully coating one end in the yogurt, he held it out to her.  
  
Instead of biting off a piece, or taking the whole slice, Maze's tongue darted out and she began licking off the yogurt with dainty, cat-like licks. Lucifer bit back a moan at the highly erotic sight, but he could not stop his body from reacting. Knowing exactly what effect she was having, his demon decided to make things even harder - ha! - for him by squirming, rubbing up against him in the most deliciously torturous way possible. This time, he couldn't stop the groan.  
  
"Bad demon."  
  
Maze laughed throatily and rubbed against him harder. Desperate to stop her before she made him lose control, he grabbed her hips firmly and held them still. This made her twist, trying to break free of his hold, an action which jostled the tray resting on her legs violently. Lucifer immediately released his grip on her and took hold of the tray to prevent it from overturning and making a complete mess of his bed.   
  
Thankfully, Maze stopped her shenanigans long enough for him to set down the tray on the floor beside the bed. Before he could push it a safe distance away though, she leaned down and snatched up the bowl of yogurt. She then shifted away from him and sprawled across the bed, twisting until she lay comfortably on her back.  
  
With a smirk, she dipped a finger into the yogurt bowl, scooped up some of the creamy white substance and placed a small dab of it right in the hollow of her throat. Then she drew a meandering trail of dots down to her left breast, tracing its soft curve  and ending in a more substantial dollop right on her nipple. Once this was done she lifted the finger to her mouth and started cleaning it with the same small, cat-like licks she had used on the apple slice.  
  
Lucifer stared entranced at the tableau she presented. The stark contrast between the creamy white yogurt and her flawless bronze skin, the highly erotic way in which her pink tongue darted out to lick daintily at her finger before disappearing again between lips curved in a seductive smirk. It surely was a sight to tempt the angels in Heaven - well, it would be, if his siblings weren't such completely prejudiced idiots. How was one poor devil supposed to resist it? But he had given his word that he would take care of her, and this was not part of the plan. He swallowed hard.  
  
"Maze. You're supposed to be resting, not-, not exerting yourself!"  
  
His demon just chuckled.  
  
"Oh, I have no intention of _exerting_ myself." Seeing his raised eyebrow, her smirk widened into a grin. "I'm going to lie back and enjoy myself while you do all the _hard_ work."  
  
Lucifer groaned at the mental images her words provoked.  
  
"Maze..."  
  
"What? This is your fault anyway. You were the one who insisted on feeding me."  
  
That made him look at her, wide eyed.  
  
"Do you mean to tell me that me feeding you is what turned you into such a horny little devil?"  
  
And here he'd thought he knew all her kinks! Maze gave a shrug and a nod in response.   
  
"So, are you going to do something about it, or do I have to _exert_ myself and deal with it on my own?"   
  
The challenge in her voice was clear. Lucifer gave up and accepted the inevitable.  
  
"Well, when you put it like that..."  
  
He took hold of her hand, pulled it towards him, and took her finger into his mouth, sucking it and swirling his tongue around it to clean off the last traces of yogurt. Maze let him continue like that for a few moments, and then suddenly curled her finger, scratching his tongue lightly with her fingernail. He pulled away with a breathy laugh.   
  
Releasing her hand, he leaned forward and kissed her passionately. When he finally broke the kiss, he started making his way down her throat, licking, kissing and sucking the soft skin until he reached the hollow at the base. He licked up the dab of yogurt she had placed there, moaning softly at the delicious combination of tastes. The freshness of the yogurt, the sweetness of the honey, and the unique taste of his demon's skin formed an intoxicating blend.  
  
He followed the trail she had laid out, licking up the creamy white drops in between kissing, sucking and biting her skin. Maze was clearly enjoying his attentions, gasping and moaning whenever he did something particularly pleasurable. Finally, he reached her nipple. Placing his lips carefully around it, he sucked the hard bud into his mouth, stroking it firmly with his tongue. His demon arched up into his touch, crying out in pleasure.  
  
Lifting up his head, he grinned at her, and then reached over to the bowl and scooped up some more yogurt. He painted a curving line of dots and dashes on her other breast, finishing with a large dot on her nipple. Then he bent down his head and immediately set about obliterating the designs, while using his other hand to play with her left breast.  
  
By the time he had cleaned it all up, Maze was writhing beneath him, clearly desperate for more. The first traces of sweat had appeared on her skin, adding a faint saltiness to the wonderful blend of flavors he had been enjoying. Dipping his finger into the yogurt once more, he drew a line straight down from her sternum to her navel, swirling around it before continuing downwards until he reached her soft folds. Maze eagerly parted her thighs, giving him better access. With a grin, he let a large drop of yogurt fall right onto her clit. His demon gave a startled cry as the cool substance hit her, then laughed softly.  
  
Settling himself comfortably between her legs, he leaned forward and began to follow the trail he had laid. Mindful of the fact that Maze was not at her full strength, he didn't draw out his ministrations but worked his way down her torso quickly until he reached her sex.   
  
Dipping his head low, he licked up a broad swath from her entrance to the tasty treat waiting for him on her clit. The combination of her juices and the yogurt made him moan loudly as he swirled his tongue around her hard nub, cleaning it thoroughly. Maze was vocal in her appreciation, crying out his name, her hips undulating against him. She reached down and threaded her fingers through his hair, pressing down on the back of his head.  
  
"Yes! More!"  
  
Using one hand to spread open her labia, he began licking, sucking and even gently nibbling on her soft folds. His other hand rested on her hip, holding her down as he gradually moved towards her entrance. Finally, he reached her opening, and pushed his tongue into her as deeply as he could, reveling in the familiar taste of his demon's wet heat. Maze cried out his name, bucking against him as she rode his tongue, demanding more, faster, harder. Lucifer could tell that she was close to coming.  
  
He pulled back slightly, withdrawing his tongue and immediately replacing it with two fingers. As he licked and sucked his way back up to her clit, he pumped the digits in and out of her rapidly, twisting them inside her to stroke her inner walls. He flattened his tongue and licked a broad stripe across the sensitive nub at the top of her sex, then wrapped his lips around it and sucked hard. At the same instant, he plunged his fingers inside her and curled them slightly, unerringly finding her g-spot and pressing down on it firmly.  
  
Maze came with a scream. Her whole body convulsed as her inner muscles clamped down on his fingers. Lucifer kept up his actions until she grabbed his hair and roughly pulled him away when the stimulation became too much. Looking up at her, he found his demon gazing down at him with a smile on her face. She looked thoroughly satisfied, and absolutely beautiful. With a grin, Lucifer withdrew his fingers, brought them up to his mouth, and made a show of licking them clean. Maze laughed at that and tugged gently on his hair, signaling for him to come up to her.  
  
The devil complied happily, lying down beside her and leaning over to give his demon a deep kiss. When they broke the kiss, Maze looked at him in confusion.  
  
"Not that I'm not happy and satisfied with your performance, but what about you?"  
  
Her hand drifted down towards his straining erection, but he lightly swatted it away before she could touch him.  
  
"Ah ah. What happened to letting me do all the hard work?"  
  
With a grin, Lucifer lay back, wrapped his own hand around his hard cock and began stroking himself. His demon propped herself up on one elbow to watch him, clearly enjoying the show. Her hot gaze turned him on further, and he decided to draw out his pleasure, teasing himself, letting her see how much he enjoyed putting on a show for her. While he kept pumping his cock with one hand, the other one roamed over his body, stroking his skin, playing with his nipples, massaging his balls. Gradually, he worked himself up to the point where he could not delay his orgasm any longer.  
  
Just as he was about to come, Maze suddenly bent down, wrapped her lips around the head of his cock, and pressed the tip of her tongue firmly into his slit. Lucifer came with a strangled cry, still stroking himself rapidly, milking his semen into his demon's waiting mouth. Maze moaned softly as she swallowed it all down, only releasing him when she was certain she had gotten every last drop.   
  
She stretched out beside him with a satisfied smile on her face, looking very much like the cat that got the cream. Lucifer could only chuckle at the sight.  
  
"So, this is what you consider just lying back, and not exerting yourself?"  
  
"I still let you do all the hard work. Just fancied a little snack." She licked her lips ostentatiously, making him laugh.  
  
"Well, I'm always happy to provide."  
  
Maze hummed in agreement, her eyes drifting closed as she basked in the afterglow. With a smile, Lucifer put the abandoned bowl of yogurt safely away, and then reached down and pulled up the comforter, covering them both. As soon as he had settled down again, his demon curled up against his side. Wrapped in each other's arms, the two quickly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there will be some actual plot in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Maze find out that using the feather has unexpected consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: angst and feelings. And then mood-whiplash.

Maze woke up slowly. The first impressions registering in her consciousness were softness, comfort and warmth. She was lying in a very comfortable bed, her head resting on a soft pillow, and she was deliciously warm. There was a familiar light weight lying on top of her. With her eyes still closed, Maze stretched, luxuriating in the brush of soft feathers against her bare skin. Wait. Feathers?!  
  
Her eyes snapped open and she stared down at herself to find that her senses had not deceived her. A large white wing was covering most of her body. Turning her head, she found Lucifer lying on his stomach next to her. His head was turned towards her and he was still sleeping soundly. And there on his back, where she had grown accustomed to seeing nothing but the scars she had created, were his wings. One was folded close, covering most of his own body. The other was stretched out slightly, covering her.  
  
A fierce pang of homesickness shot through Maze. In their millennia together in Hell, there had been countless times when they had woken up just like this. Until now, she had never realized how much she had missed it.  
  
She reached out a hand and ran it lightly over the pristine white feathers, automatically smoothing out a few disarrayed barbs. Studying the feathers carefully, she could detect no difference to Lucifer's original wings. Turning her head once more, she carefully scrutinized the place where the wings met his back, trying to find any trace of the scars. Nothing. Not the tiniest sign that they had ever been cut off.  
  
Maze sighed. She knew she should wake Lucifer, but she dreaded his reaction to this unexpected development. Knowing she was only delaying the inevitable, she snuggled down under the wing, determined to enjoy this oh so familiar pleasure a few minutes longer.  
  
Her hand continued stroking the wing of its own volition, grooming it gently, just like she had done for millennia. By now, the actions were firmly entrenched in her muscle memory, and a pause of five years had done nothing to diminish them.   
  
The fact that her Lord had trusted her with this delicate task had always filled her with pride, and she had taken great care to make sure that her ministrations never caused him any discomfort unless the situation made it inevitable. Which had made it all the more painful for her when practically his first act on coming to Earth was to make her cut off his wings.  
  
The thought of those horrible moments there on the beach sent a shiver through her, the memories still clear and detailed, and just as painful. And now, he would most likely ask her to do it again. The worst part was that she knew she would do it. Oh, she would try to change his mind. She was prepared to argue, plead, and beg him not to make her do it again. But in the end, if he insisted, she would do it, no matter how much it hurt both of them.  
  
Sighing deeply once again, she decided to get it over with. There was no use in waiting any longer. With the dread she was feeling about what was to come, she couldn't even enjoy her current position of being literally under his wing. She briefly contemplated the best way to wake the devil, before a small smirk turned up the corners of her mouth. If she was going to have to face this ordeal, she might as well have a tiny bit of fun beforehand.  
  
Maze carefully slipped her fingers in between Lucifer's feathers until she reached the skin of the wing. There, she began scratching softly, teasingly. The reaction was almost immediate. A shiver ran down the whole length of the appendage, ruffling the feathers. Lucifer moaned in his sleep and began to stir. Maze kept up her teasing, alternating between stroking the sensitive skin with her fingertips and scratching gently.   
  
"Hmmm, Maze."  
  
She smiled as he moaned her name. His eyes opened slowly and she stopped her touches, waiting to see what he would do. When his gaze focused on her, a sweet smile spread across his face that made her heart clench. It had been a long time since he last looked at her like that.   
  
"Hey there." He seemed to realize that something was amiss, and his expression turned concerned. "Maze? What's wrong?"  
  
In response, she carefully pulled her fingers out from between his feathers and then ran her hand over the surface of his wing, stroking it gently but firmly. Lucifer's eyes widened in shock, and he automatically pulled the wing away from her touch, lifting it completely off her in the process.   
  
Maze let out a wordless whine of protest when the cool air hit her, causing him to lower the wing again immediately. She gave a soft hum of approval, making him smile briefly before turning serious again.  
  
"So. It looks like using that feather had some unforeseen consequences."  
  
She remained silent as he studied the newly returned appendage. He turned his head and tried to get a glimpse at his back, huffing in annoyance when it proved impossible. Next, he carefully extended the other wing, stretching it out and folding it back in several times. Finally, he heaved a deep sigh and turned his attention back to her. Seeing the look on his face, Maze spoke up before he could say anything.  
  
"Lucifer please. Please don't make me cut them off again."  
  
She knew she was sounding desperate, pleading like that, but she didn't care. His voice was gentle but firm when he replied.  
  
"Maze-"  
  
"Please. I can't-"  
  
He stopped her by gently putting his hand over her mouth.  
  
"Mazikeen, hush. It's okay. I won't ask that of you again. Not unless it becomes absolutely necessary."  
  
She sighed in relief and sank back onto her pillow. Lucifer removed his hand from her mouth and stroked her cheek.   
  
"I promise you Maze, I won't do that to you again unless I absolutely have no other choice. I know how hard it was for you."  
  
He gave her a slightly apologetic smile, and she could hear a measure of regret in his voice. She knew he would never apologize for what he had made her do, but the fact that he clearly was aware what it had meant for her was enough. It reassured her that he truly would not do that to her again unless the circumstances left him absolutely no other choice. They stayed like that for several moments before he spoke again.  
  
"I wonder..."  
  
Maze watched silently as Lucifer trailed off and gazed down at his hand and arm. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and allowed his glamor to fade, revealing his scarred, skinless true form. It was unchanged. She averted her gaze, not wanting to witness his reaction, knowing how much it would hurt him to have this small hope destroyed.  
  
A strangled sob brought her attention back to him. The devastated expression on his scarred face and the tears in his eyes sent a fierce stab of pain through her. Wordlessly, she reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace. His whole body shook with the force of his sobs as he cried on her shoulder, his tears hot against her skin. Maze did her best to comfort him, and silently cursed his bastard of a father for doing this to him.   
  
Any humans who hurt their children like that were guaranteed a place in one of the lowest circles of Hell, where they would suffer eternal torment. As far as Maze was concerned, Lucifer's father deserved the same and more. She growled low in her throat.  
  
"If I ever get my hands on that asshole who sired you, I'm going to make him pay a hundredfold for every second of pain he caused you."  
  
That made the devil laugh through his tears.  
  
"My darling Maze. Always there to protect me. I hope you get your chance."  
  
He pulled back slightly, lifted his head, and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to her lips, changing back to his other form as he did so. After a few moments, he broke the kiss and laid his head back on her shoulder, letting her hold him for a while longer.  
  
Eventually, Lucifer pulled out of Maze's embrace, propped himself up with one arm, and gave her a quick once over.  
  
"How are you feeling today?"  
  
"Better. I don't think I'm back to full strength yet, but I feel stronger. Definitely strong enough to get up and take a shower."  
  
Putting her words into actions, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, then turned back to him.  
  
"Wanna join me?"  
  
With a grin, Lucifer got up, too.  
  
"Of course. Besides, with these-", he moved his wings slightly, "-back, joint showers will have to become a regular thing for us, since I can't very well wash them on my own. And I hope you won't mind taking up your old job as my own personal wing groomer again, Maze."  
  
His demon hummed happily at the thought, making him chuckle.   
  
"You always did like that particular job, didn't you, Mazie? Does my favorite demon perhaps have a little wing fetish?"  
  
Maze shrugged and smiled. "Maybe."  
  
Lucifer laughed.  
  
"I knew it!" He paused a moment as a thought struck him. "Is that why you and my dear brother-"  
  
Maze interrupted him before he could find a suitable way to describe her entanglement with Amenadiel.  
  
"That uptight ass never let me play with his wings."  
  
"Always knew he was a fool. So, if it wasn't the wings, whatever did you see in him?"  
  
"Honestly, I don't know." She averted he gaze and to Lucifer's surprise looked embarrassed.   
  
"Perhaps it was just that he was the closest thing I could get to the one I really wanted." She shrugged again. "If so, he was a poor substitute."  
  
"Mazikeen."  
  
He stared at her in astonishment, and then pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. When they broke apart again, he looked down at her with a smirk.  
  
"So, exactly how poor a substitute was he?"  
  
Maze glared at him incredulously. "Seriously? You want me to compare you two?"  
  
Lucifer just grinned, making his demon shake her head and grumble.  
  
"You just want me to stroke your ego."  
  
"Oh no, I want you to stroke lots of other parts of me, too. Including my wings."   
  
He wrapped the appendages in question around her, laughing softly when she leaned back slightly and did her best to snuggle into them.  
  
"Come on, Mazie. Tell me. Think about the look on his face when he finds out that I know all."  
  
"Really, Lucifer, there is no comparison between you and mister no-longer-a-virgin."  
  
The devil's eyebrows shot up at that. "Wait. You mean you-"  
  
"-were his first? Made a man out of him - well, in this one particular area, at least? Popped his cherry? Yep." The smirk on her face could only be described as evil. "Taught him all he knows about it. Which is still barely anything at all. Really, are all your siblings such narrow minded, uptight, bigoted prudes? Getting him to do anything at all was hard work, I tell you."  
  
"I expect that most of my siblings share his attitude. Idiots, the lot of them. Yet another area where I'm the black sheep of the family." He grinned at her. "So, please tell me that his first performance was totally awkward and embarrassing."  
  
Maze laughed wickedly. "Well, let's just say it's a good thing that the one thing he does have in common with you is the lack of a recovery period, and better than human stamina."  
  
"Oh dear. Is my brother a bit of a two pump chump?"  
  
His demon gave a derisive snort. "One pump, that first time. Barely."  
  
Lucifer roared with laughter.   
  
"Oh, this is absolutely priceless. Tell me more, and don't leave out any detail."  
  
"No." Seeing his pout, she scowled at him. "Seriously, Lucifer, I'd rather not remember it, okay?"  
  
"Aw, come on, Maze. Please. I promise I'll make it worth your while."  
  
He moved his wings slightly, rubbing them against her naked back, making her moan.  
  
"Unfair."  
  
"Devil here." Lucifer smirked.  
  
"Why do you want this so much?"  
  
"Because it's the unique opportunity to completely embarrass my dear brother and torture him with it for the rest of eternity! I am never ever going to let him live this down." He sounded absolutely gleeful at the thought.  
  
"Yeah, and in the process you will embarrass me and never let me live it down, too." Maze pointed out sourly.  
  
That wiped the grin off the devil's face.   
  
"Oh."  
  
He hesitated for several moments, clearly trying to find a way around this sudden obstacle. Then he gave a resigned sigh.  
  
"No. I won't. No matter how much I'd enjoy his suffering, you are more important to me. I won't make you suffer, too."  
  
Warmth spread through Maze at his words. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. When they finally broke apart, he smiled teasingly at her.  
  
"Well, if this is the kind of reward I get, then the sacrifice may just be worth it." He sighed again. "Still, I wish there was a way for me to use this without hurting you."  
  
Maze hesitated for a few seconds, carefully weighing her next words. She hated seeing him so resigned and defeated, even over something as seemingly unimportant as an opportunity to psychologically torment his brother. But then, she knew that for Lucifer, this was anything but unimportant. There was a millennia long history of toxic sibling rivalry and bullying behind this.  
  
"I think there may be a way."   
  
Seeing the twinkle of mischief spark once again in his eyes convinced her that this was the right choice.   
  
"You just have to leave out any reference to him being a substitute for you. Let him think that the only reason I had sex with him was because you ordered me to distract him. It's what he believes, anyway."  
  
"Maze. You'd really be okay with that?"   
  
She nodded. The smile spreading across the devil's face was as blindingly bright as the sun. Wrapping his arms and wings tightly around her, he twirled her round and round, making her laugh at his exuberance. When he finally stopped and put her down again, she grinned up at him.  
  
"Just promise me one thing."  
  
"Anything for you, my darling."  
  
"I want to be there and see the look on his face."   
  
Her grin was absolutely malicious. Lucifer laughed in delight.   
  
"Promised. With the greatest pleasure."  
  
He tilted his head slightly and looked at her inquiringly. "So, is this about him almost killing you, or has my asshole of a brother done anything else to piss you off?"  
  
"When he accused me of having seduced him on your orders, he called me a filthy demon, and your demon whore."  
  
Lucifer's expression turned cold. His tone when he replied was deceptively mild, but there was a flicker of hellfire in his eyes.  
  
"Did he now."  
  
Maze simply nodded, her own expression just as cold. Lucifer growled low in his throat.  
  
"I should have killed him. Really killed him, not just sent him back."  
  
"Perhaps. But then you wouldn't be able to torment him for the rest of eternity with his sexual inadequacy. That's a much more fitting punishment, don't you think? Much more fun, too."   
  
Her smirk was completely evil. The devil responded with a malicious smile of his own.  
  
"True. You are wise, my darling Maze."  
  
He pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips, and then pulled back and loosened his hold on her.  
  
"Now, cozy as it is to stand here with you in my arms, there are better ways to spend the day. Besides, I seem to remember that someone promised me a shower."  
  
Maze grinned. "Right. Shower."   
  
She ran a hand along the edge of one of Lucifer's wings, making him shudder. "Let's go."  
  
With that, she turned and walked towards the master bathroom. The devil laughed as he followed her.  
  
"I see. You just want to get your hands on my wings!"  
  
He could practically hear her smirk as she replied. "Of course! Why, what else did you think I'd want?"  
  
"My body, of course!"  
  
"Well, I guess I might as well take that, too. Since it's attached to the wings."  
  
Their laughter rang out through the penthouse as they prepared to have some wet and naked fun with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Maze appears to be rather nasty about Amenadiel here, remember that he tried to kill Lucifer, almost killed her, and said some rather nasty things about her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maze receives a distress call. Lucifer flies to the rescue, with unforeseen consequences.

Lucifer and Maze were sitting at the table on the balcony, finishing up a lavish late breakfast. They had had a lot of fun in the shower, followed by an extended and extremely pleasurable grooming session, which then necessitated another shower. After that, Lucifer's protective streak had surfaced again and he had insisted on treating his demon to what he called 'some proper food'.  
  
They had gotten dressed, he had tucked away his wings - to remove temptation, as he claimed - and then he had gone all out in his breakfast preparations. Maze had merely watched in amusement, occasionally lending a hand at his request. She had never seen the point of slaving away in a kitchen for hours, only to get something that would be eaten in minutes. Especially when there were lots of humans around that could be paid to provide tasty foods. But she knew that Lucifer actually enjoyed this kind of work, and she certainly had no objections to benefiting from the results.  
  
During the breakfast, they had discussed recent events and made plans for the day. It was getting close to noon, and they were just finishing their last cups of coffee when Maze's phone rang. The demon pulled the device out of her pocket and raised a surprised eyebrow as she saw the caller ID. Seeing the inquiring look the devil was giving her, she quickly took the call, putting it on loudspeaker so he didn't have to strain his hearing to follow both sides of the conversation.  
  
"Hello, little terror."  
  
"Maze?"  
  
The child's tone made both of them sit up straight and exchange a worried glance.  
  
"What's up, kid?"  
  
"I'm scared, Maze. There's a strange man here, and he wants to take me out of class, but I don't want to go with him. He says that he's a cop, and that mommy and daddy sent him, but I think he's lying. I don't like him, he's acting all weird and he scares me!"  
  
"Okay, listen. Is he there in the room with you right now?"  
  
"I'm in the girls' bathroom. Men aren't allowed to come in here."  
  
Lucifer and Maze both smiled at that.  
  
"Good. Now, this man, did he tell you his name?"  
  
"He said his name is Malcolm."  
  
The devil's eyes glowed red and low growls erupted from his and his demon's throats.  
  
"Maze?"  
  
Hearing the little human's fearful voice, she forced herself to calm down.  
  
"Listen carefully, kid. This man is a bad guy, and he mustn't take you away. Lucifer and I are coming to get you, but until we're there, I want you to hide. Can you find some place where nobody will be able to find you? Somewhere with a door you can lock would be good."  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Okay. Now go to the bathroom door and look out carefully. See if he's there. If he is, you'd better stay in there."  
  
The sounds of footsteps and a door being opened could be heard.  
  
"He's not here. Miss Davis sent him to the principal, he's probably still talking with her."  
  
"Okay. Go and find a good hiding place. I'm gonna hang up now, but Lucifer or I will call you as soon as we get there. And if anything happens, call me."  
  
"Okay. Maze? Please hurry. I'm so scared."  
  
"We'll hurry. And you're a very brave and clever girl. You can do this. See you soon."  
  
"Bye, Maze."  
  
The moment she ended the call, Maze turned to Lucifer.  
  
"Can you fly there?"  
  
His eyes widened slightly.  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
He stood up and unfurled his wings. Before he could leap into the air, Maze thrust her phone at him.  
  
"Here. So you can call her and she can tell you where to find her. I'm following you with a car. Get her away from the school and keep her safe until I get there."  
  
"I promise."  
  
With that, he rose into the sky and flew as fast as he could towards the spawn's school.  
  
Maze immediately headed down to the underground parking garage where she took her usual big black SUV. She shot out onto the street with squealing tires and headed for the school as fast as she could, traffic laws be damned. Her friend was in danger, and had asked for her help. Nothing else mattered right now.  
  
****  
  
After several long, nerve-wracking minutes, Trixie finally found a good hiding place. Just as she was turning the corner of the corridor, she saw the school's janitor coming out of the supply room. Before he could lock the door behind him, one of the teachers appeared and started telling him about some urgent problem with the wash basin in her classroom. She practically dragged the man away with her to see to it immediately, and the door to the supply room remained unlocked.  
  
After a quick glance around that assured her that she was alone in the hallway, she opened the door and slipped inside, closing it silently behind her. Then she firmly pressed the button that would lock the door from the inside, listening carefully until she heard the click of the lock engaging. Only then did she relax slightly and look around.  
  
The room was small and cramped, with large shelves full of all kinds of school supplies covering the walls and boxes stacked on the floor. To Trixie's surprise, there was a window in the wall opposite the door, with a table standing under it.  
  
After a moment's hesitation, she pushed several of the boxes in front of the door to block it. Once this was done, she settled down to wait for her friends, only to get up again almost immediately. She just couldn't sit down and do nothing right now.  
  
Trixie's gaze returned to the window. Maybe if she looked out, she could see her friends coming. Determined, she went over to the table. Standing in front of it, she could look out through the window, but from that position she couldn't really see anything.  
  
The table was quite high, and there was no chair she could have used to climb up onto it. Fortunately, there were some more boxes. She quickly pushed one into position and climbed onto it. From there, it was easy to get up onto the table. She scooted across the surface until she was sitting right in front of the window and could look out. The room she was in was on the ground floor, but it was still high enough to give her a good view.  
  
There were a couple of bushes right beneath the window, and then a lawn dotted with more bushes and trees stretched down to the sidewalk and the street. A couple of cars were parked there, and others were driving by, but the only person she could see was a woman walking along a bit further down the block, heading away from the school.  
  
Trixie was just wondering how long she would have to wait, when a movement up in the sky caught her attention. It seemed to be some kind of bird, but something was strange about it. Before she could determine what, it went into a dive. Faster and faster it shot downward, until she was certain it would crash to the ground. And then, at the last moment, it - he - snapped out his wings, flapped them once, and landed gracefully on the lawn. Lucifer. Her friend was here, and he had wings. Huge, beautiful, white wings. Wings he could fly with. That was so cool!  
  
A sound from the door made her turn around quickly. Fear shot through her. Had the bad man found her? She stared hard at the door for several seconds, but nothing happened, and the sound did not repeat itself. With a sigh of relief, she turned back to the window.  
  
Lucifer was still out there on the lawn, but his wings were gone. Trixie looked hard, but she couldn't see them anymore. What had happened to them? Had he taken them off somehow? But them they would still have to be there. Could he hide them, make them disappear? That seemed the best explanation. After all, he never had wings when she saw him before.  
  
Maybe his wings were a secret. Maybe he had to hide them, because people would do bad things to him if they knew he had wings.  
  
Wings. Like an angel. Was Lucifer an angel? But he always said he was the devil. But on the internet, some sites said that the devil was an angel who was thrown out of heaven for being bad. So, Lucifer could be an angel, and the devil. But he wasn't bad. Trixie was certain of that. Not like the man who was after her, or the bad guys her mommy and daddy caught. Lucifer helped mommy catch bad guys. That made him a good guy.  
  
And he was her friend. Trixie smiled broadly at that. Her friend was maybe an angel, and the devil. This was so cool!  
  
She frowned when another thought occurred to her. If he was an angel, perhaps he was hiding his wings because he didn't want people to know? Would Lucifer be angry that she had seen them, and found out his secret?  
  
Before she could think some more about this, her phone started vibrating in her pocket. A quick glance outside showed that Lucifer was holding a phone to his ear. He was calling her! She quickly answered the call.  
  
"Lucifer!"  
  
There was a startled pause, and then her friend answered. "Hello there, little human. How did you know it was me calling, instead of Maze?"  
  
Trixie giggled. "I can see you."  
  
She watched as he started scanning the school building, looking for her.  
  
"Indeed?"  
  
There was a slight edge in his tone that made her realize that he was wondering just how much she had seen. He sounded worried. Trixie really wanted to tell him it was okay, but she stopped herself. If he didn't want her to know about his wings, then maybe it was better if she didn't say anything. At least not now.  
  
"So, where are you?"  
  
His question pulled her out of her thoughts.  
  
"On the ground floor, in a supply room. Turn right."  
  
She moved as close to the window as she could and started waving her free arm to attract his attention. After a few moments, he found her and started walking towards her.  
  
"I see you now. Can you open the window?"  
  
Trixie looked at it carefully before replying.  
  
"I think so."  
  
Putting down her phone, she grasped the window with both hands and easily managed to open it, just as Lucifer stepped between the bushes outside and stood directly beneath it. He smiled up at her and put away his phone.  
  
"Hello again, little human."  
  
He looked around quickly, and then studied her thoughtfully. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision.  
  
"Alright, I think the best thing to do would be for you to just move up onto the windowsill and sit there with your legs outside, and then when I tell you to, you push yourself off and I'll catch you. Do you think you can do that?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Trixie started maneuvering herself into position. At the last moment, she remembered her phone and put it safely into her pocket. Once she was seated on the windowsill like Lucifer wanted, she looked at him expectantly.  
  
"Excellent." He raised up his arms. "Now, on the count of three, push yourself off and I'll catch you. Ready?"  
  
She nodded and tensed in anticipation.  
  
"One. Two. Three."  
  
Trixie pushed herself off the windowsill and after a short drop, Lucifer caught her easily in his arms. Automatically, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso, clinging on tightly. He actually held her like that for a few moments before protesting.  
  
"Alright, child, you can let go now. You're wrinkling the Armani."  
  
Trixie shook her head and clung on tighter. She didn't want to let go. She felt safe here in his arms.  
  
"Come on. Maze said we should get away from the school, and I'm not carrying you away. That would look far too suspicious."  
  
Reluctantly, Trixie let go and allowed him to set her down. Side by side, they started walking towards the street.  
  
"Where is Maze? She said you'd both come to get me."  
  
"She's bringing the car. Right now she's two blocks away, and driving much too fast." He grimaced, muttering something under his breath that Trixie didn't quite catch, before continuing. "At least she had enough sense to bring the SUV and not my Corvette."  
  
She looked up at him, wide-eyed. Was this some sort of angel superpower?  
  
"How do you know all that?"  
  
Lucifer looked at her and his own eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Before she could question him further, the roar of an engine could be heard and a big black car shot around the corner and came towards them. It stopped abruptly right in front of them, and before they could do anything, the driver's door opened and Maze got out.  
  
"Maze!"  
  
Trixie immediately ran to her friend and greeted her with a hug. Maze froze for a moment, and then pushed the girl away gently but firmly. To everybody's surprise, she then crouched down and did not protest when Trixie immediately used the opportunity to hug her properly.  
  
"Hello there, little terror. Good to see you. Now let's get away from here, shall we?"  
  
And just like that, her friend picked her up, opened the rear door of the car, and gently deposited her inside. When Maze turned to get back behind the wheel, she found Lucifer sitting in the driver's seat.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"I'm driving."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I want us to get home in one piece. And you drive like a demon."  
  
"I am a demon. And there's nothing wrong with my driving. Anyway, this is my car, so I should drive."  
  
Trixie looked at her friend, wide-eyed. Maze was a demon! So cool!  
  
Her friends were too caught up in their argument to notice her reaction.  
  
"Maze, this is no time for arguing. We need to get away from here. I'm driving, and that's final. Now get in the car."  
  
Lucifer's tone was hard. Grumbling under her breath, Maze stepped around to the passenger side, and to Trixie's surprise, got into the back seat next to her. As soon as she was in the car, Lucifer pulled out into the lane and drove along the block, staying well within the speed limit.  
  
Trixie looked out at her school as they passed it. Just as they were reaching the main entrance, the doors opened and a man stepped out. She quickly ducked down in her seat.  
  
"That's him!"  
  
Both of her friends turned their heads and looked, though Lucifer brought his attention back to the road almost immediately. He kept the car going at the same steady pace. Maze however kept her eyes on the human as long as possible, studying him intently.  
  
"He's noticed the car. With the tinted windows I doubt that he has actually seen us. Could he know that this car belongs to LUX?"  
  
Lucifer hesitated for a moment before answering.  
  
"It's possible. If he did any research on me at all, he'd have found out about it easily. Doesn't matter, though. We'll go right back to the penthouse, and he won't be stupid enough to come after us."  
  
"With you driving at a snail's pace, he won't have to come after us, he'll get there long before we arrive."  
  
"Don't worry, as soon as we are out of sight I'll drive faster. But it wouldn't do to draw unnecessary attention to us right now by speeding, now would it?"  
  
"There's a difference between speeding, and crawling along like a snail. A tranquilized snail."  
  
Fortunately, they now reached the end of the block, and Lucifer took a careful left turn. The moment they were out of the line of sight from the school, Trixie found herself pressed back into her seat as the devil stepped on the accelerator and the car shot forward. He caught Maze's eyes in the rear view mirror and raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Satisfied now?"  
  
"Well, it's slightly better."  
  
They drove on in silence for several minutes before Maze spoke up again.  
  
"Turn right up there."  
  
"No, straight on is shorter."  
  
With that, Lucifer steered the car straight across the intersection Maze had indicated. He followed the road as it curved gently to the right, and then had to break hard when he found himself confronted with a sea of red tail lights. Half a block further on, a mass of signs and machinery indicated a construction site.  
  
"Told you to turn right."  
  
Trixie couldn't suppress a grin at her friend's smug tone. Lucifer, however, was far from amused.  
  
"Nobody likes a backseat driver, Maze."  
  
"What's a backseat driver?" Trixie had never heard that term before, but Lucifer's tone left no doubt that it was nothing nice.  
  
Maze turned to her. "It's a nasty name for someone who gives the driver helpful advice."  
  
"No, it's a perfectly appropriate name for someone who constantly criticizes the driver and butts in with unasked for, unwanted comments."  
  
"Oh, so you wanted to get stuck in a traffic jam? My bad."  
  
Grinning happily, Trixie leaned back in her seat as her friends continued squabbling all the way back to their place. It didn't matter if the bad guy got there before them. She knew they would always keep her safe.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two hellions and their friend reach the penthouse, and discuss their next steps.

Maze finally allowed herself to relax when the elevator doors opened and revealed a silent, empty penthouse. Since she had had the forethought of locking the place down as she left, she could be reasonably certain that there were no nasty surprises waiting for them.  
  
Lucifer got out first, immediately striding over to his bar to get himself a drink, only to stop short at the sight of the wreckage. He sighed in annoyance and cursed under his breath.  
  
The child had followed him, and gave a surprised gasp when she saw the destruction. She turned back to Maze, eyes wide with worry.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
The demon shrugged.   
  
"Lucifer got into a fight with his brother yesterday." Seeing the alarmed look on the girl's face, she hastened to reassure her. "Don't worry, he's alright. I made sure of that."  
  
This only made the child look at her with concern.  
  
"Did you get hurt?"  
  
Maze hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to make the spawn any more worried than she already was, but she also didn't want to lie to her.  
  
"Yes, but I'm fine now."  
  
That got her a raised eyebrow from Lucifer, who had turned towards them and was observing their conversation. She shot him a warning glare, hoping he would refrain from any comments. Unfortunately, the little terror saw it, and immediately became suspicious.  
  
"You're really fine?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
At that, the devil pointedly cleared his throat. Maze growled in frustration. Didn't he get that she didn't want to frighten the kid?  
  
"Alright, I'm almost fine. But it's really nothing to worry about. Lucifer is just being overprotective." She gave the child a conspiratorial smirk. "I think he does it just to be annoying."  
  
That made the girl giggle, and she visibly relaxed. Lucifer scowled at them both.  
  
"I am not overprotective. I promised to take care of you."  
  
Maze felt a twinge of guilt. She knew exactly how serious he took his promises. But she just didn't know how to deal with this new, caring, protective devil. She went over to him and reached up to stroke his cheek.  
  
"I know. And you did a great job taking care of me yesterday."  
  
He smiled at that, and with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, she continued. "I felt really, really well taken care of after our little dinner."  
  
Her seductive tone made Lucifer groan. Her own smile turned into a smirk.  
  
"Of course, I did have to tell you how to take care of me properly first. Because really, your idea of care did leave a bit to be desired."  
  
"There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way I cared for you!"  
  
"You mean except for the fact that you got me all worked up and then wanted to just leave me like that."  
  
"That was entirely not my fault! How was I to know that-"  
  
A giggle behind them reminded them that they had an audience. Trixie was grinning broadly at them.   
  
"You two are so funny!"  
  
"Are not!"  
  
The devil and his demon spoke in perfect unison, and the spawn promptly doubled over laughing. Glancing over at Lucifer, Maze caught him looking at her somewhat sheepishly, and couldn't hold back her own laughter. That set him off, too. When they finally managed to calm down again after several minutes, Lucifer became serious.  
  
"Alright, let's get back to business. What do we do now?"  
  
"I'm going after that scumbag."   
  
"No."  
  
Maze glared at the devil, completely outraged.  
  
"What?! He tried to get at my friend. He must be punished for that! Besides-" she lowered her voice, "- I want her to feel safe again. She won't, as long as he is out there, free to try again."  
  
"I know, Maze, and I agree with you. But you're not going after him. I am."  
  
Lucifer held up a hand when she opened her mouth to argue with him.  
  
"Look, you're still not up to full strength yet-"  
  
She interrupted him hotly. "I'm more than strong enough to deal with one puny mortal!"  
  
"Of course, my darling. But he may not be alone. And there are other reasons why I need to be the one to go after him."  
  
Maze shot him a suspicious look when he refused to meet her eyes. "What other reasons?"  
  
"Oh, just the small matter of a deal I made with him."  
  
"You made a deal with that human piece of shit?!"  
  
He sighed in frustration. "Yes. Look, there were mitigating circumstances. I can tell you all about it later if you want to know. Needless to say, after what has happened I am most definitely canceling that deal."  
  
Maze grumbled, but subsided slightly. Lucifer smiled softly at her.  
  
"So, you see why I have to be the one to go after him. Besides, I'm sure the little human would prefer it if you stayed here with her and kept her company."  
  
That brought a smirk to Maze's face.  
  
"I see. We're finally getting to the real reason why you want to go after the scumbag. You're just scared of having to babysit the little terror!"  
  
Lucifer gave her an affronted look. "I am not scared!"  
  
Maze just snorted in reply.  
  
"Anyway, I'm going after him, and you stay here and protect the spawn." He paused, and sighed. "And we'd better call the detective and let her know what happened."  
  
In response, Maze reached into his pocket, pulled out her phone and handed it to him. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she rolled her eyes.  
  
"What, you want me to call her? 'Hello detective, I just wanted to let you know that Lucifer and I basically kidnapped your daughter from her school. Don't worry, she came willingly, and we only did it because the murderer you're chasing tried to do it first. We're going to keep your kid until that scumbag is caught and dealt with.' Yeah, that's going to go over well."  
  
The devil groaned. "Maze..."  
  
Whatever he had planned to say, he clearly thought better of it. Taking several steps away from her and the little human, he lifted the phone to his ear. Maze allowed herself a small smirk of triumph before turning her attention on the child.  
  
Trixie was looking worriedly over at Lucifer, who was just greeting the detective cheerfully. When the demon crouched down before her, she turned her attention to her friend. Maze smiled softly at her.  
  
"Hey there. It's alright, you know. You're safe here, and Lucifer is going to go and catch the bad guy and make sure he can never try to get you again."  
  
The child briefly returned the smile. "I know."  
  
When she didn't say anything else, Maze prompted: "What's with the worried face, then?"  
  
"Mom will be angry."  
  
"No, she won't. Well, not at you, at least. She might be angry with Lucifer and me, but that's her problem."  
  
"But I don't want her to be angry with you! You're my friends, and you saved me from the bad man!"  
  
Maze's smile broadened, pleased at being called friend.  
  
"Yes, and once Lucifer explains it, your mom will understand that."  
  
The girl sighed in relief and visibly relaxed at this. Maze looked at her curiously.  
  
"Why is it so important to you that your mom isn't angry with us?"  
  
The little human gave her a look that clearly indicated that the answer should be obvious.  
  
"Because if she's angry with you, then she won't let me spend time with you!"  
  
"Ah. Good reason."   
  
A happy grin spread across the demon's face. Her friend wanted to spend time with her!  
  
"Well, whatever happens, you and I are going to spend some time together right now."  
  
"Yes!"   
  
With that, the spawn launched herself at the demon and hugged her enthusiastically. Maze froze for a moment and grimaced, but then cautiously returned the hug. Lucifer chose that moment to turn his attention back to them and saunter over. He arched an eyebrow at his demon, and she glared at him in return. He was still talking on the phone. When he reached them, he held it out to the child.  
  
"Here, little human. Your mother wants to talk with you."  
  
The girl quickly pulled out of the hug and took the device. As she greeted her mom, Maze straightened and turned her attention to the devil.  
  
"Everything settled with the detective?"  
  
"Yes. She's agreed to let her offspring stay here until Malcolm is caught. I'm meeting up with her to follow some leads as to his current whereabouts."  
  
"Make sure he gets what he deserves."  
  
"Of course, my darling." He placed a soft kiss on her lips.  
  
The spawn finished the call with her mother and came back over to them. She handed the phone back to Lucifer and then hugged him with all her strength, to his intense discomfort and Maze's amusement.  
  
"Thank you for getting mommy to let me stay here with Maze, Lucifer!"  
  
"If you really want to thank me, child, you can stop this unpleasantness right now." The devil grumbled, making the girl giggle.  
  
She did release her hold on him, though, and he gave a theatrical sigh of relief. This prompted another giggle from Trixie, as well as a snicker from Maze. Lucifer shot them a dark look.  
  
"Well, I'll be on my way, then. You two have fun together."  
  
"Bye, Lucifer!"  
  
Maze smirked at the devil. "Happy hunting."  
  
With a devilish grin at his demon and a little wave at both of them, Lucifer stepped into the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know it's evil of me to end the chapter there. I'll try to have the next one ready as soon as possible.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maze and Trixie have a talk.

Once the elevator doors had closed behind the devil, Maze turned her attention to the girl beside her.  
  
"So, what do you want to do?"  
  
Trixie remained silent for several moments, clearly thinking about it. The demon waited with barely restrained impatience until the child finally seemed to come to some sort of decision.  
  
"Could we just sit down and talk?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Maze cast a worried glance at the little terror as they walked over to the couch and sat down next to each other. The kid was far too serious for her liking. When she just sat there silently, fidgeting slightly, clearly nervous about something, another spike of worry shot through the demon. Before she could do anything, Trixie chose to speak.  
  
"Maze? Lucifer really is the devil, isn't he?"  
  
Well, that was certainly not what Maze had expected. She answered the question truthfully, wondering where this was going.  
  
"Yes, he is."  
  
The child nodded calmly as though her friend had just confirmed something she already knew.  
  
"But he's also an angel, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
As the demon carefully watched to gauge her little friend's reaction, a broad grin spread across the girl's face.  
  
"I knew it! That is so cool!"  
  
Relief made Maze chuckle. "Yeah, it is."  
  
Then she tilted her head slightly and gave the girl a curious look.  
  
"So, what brought on this realization?"  
  
Immediately, Trixie looked worried again. She stared down at where her hands were folded in her lap, refusing to meet the demon's gaze.  
  
"I saw his wings."  
  
With a supreme effort, Maze kept her expression neutral and her voice casual.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
The girl glanced at her shyly. Apparently reassured by the demon's calm attitude, she relaxed slightly and explained.  
  
"When I was hiding from the bad man, I looked out the window so I could see if you were coming to get me. And I saw Lucifer. I thought he was a bird, first. And then he came down so fast, I thought he would crash into the ground. But then he opened his wings! That was so cool! And they were really pretty! But then I looked away for a moment, and when I looked back they were just gone."  
  
Maze couldn't suppress a smile at the adorable pout that accompanied the last sentence.  
  
"He can hide them somehow, right?"  
  
"Yes, he can."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I don't know how it works exactly. Lucifer tried to explain it to me once. He said the wings are still there, still attached to him, but at the same time they are not here, not in this world where the rest of his body is. They're in some sort of other dimension, or pocket universe, or something. I don't think he himself knows where exactly they go when he tucks them away."  
  
Trixie had listened to the explanation attentively, nodding a few times to indicate that she understood. Now she was silent, clearly thinking about the new information.  
  
"I guess he hides them most of the time because people would freak out if they saw a man with wings."  
  
Maze studied the girl carefully before replying. So far, it didn't look like seeing the wings had affected her negatively, but she needed to be sure.  
  
"Yes, people would freak out if they saw the wings, but not in the way you think." At the child's questioning look, she explained. "Lucifer isn't just an ordinary angel. He is one of the archangels, the really important, powerful angels. Their wings are full of that power, so full that some of it leaks out. Most humans can't handle that power. It does something to their minds, drives them crazy. That's why it's a bad idea to let them see the wings."  
  
Seeing the alarmed and worried look on her friend's face, Maze hastened to reassure her. "But I don't think that happened to you. You seem to be doing alright."  
  
Trixie relaxed somewhat at that, but she still sounded worried when she asked: "How can we be sure? I don't want to go crazy."  
  
"How did seeing the wings make you feel? Do you feel like you just have to see them again, like you can't live without them?"  
  
The girl frowned as she thought about it.  
  
"No, I don't feel like that. I mean, I'd like to see them again because they're so cool, and really pretty, but I understand if Lucifer doesn't want to show them to me again."  
  
Maze sighed in relief and gave the child a reassuring smile.  
  
"If that's how you feel about them, then seeing the wings didn't do anything to you."  
  
Trixie grinned happily at that, and promptly hugged her friend. As before, the demon froze for a moment before tentatively returning the gesture. When the girl pulled away after a couple of seconds, Maze relaxed with a small sigh, drawing a giggle from the spawn.  
  
"You're almost as bad about hugs as Lucifer! Don't you like to be hugged, Maze?"  
  
The demon shrugged. "Never been hugged before you did it. I suppose it's not bad."  
  
The girl stared at her, wide eyed. "Demons don't hug each other?"  
  
Maze couldn't suppress a snort.  
  
"No. Any demon who tried to hug another would get a knife between the ribs, or worse." She smiled at the spawn. "But I'm making an exception for you."  
  
That made Trixie grin again. Then she cocked her head and looked at her friend quizzically.  
  
"Maze? You're a demon." She paused, clearly waiting for confirmation. When Maze nodded, the girl went on. "But you look human."  
  
For a moment, the demon wondered if she should be offended by that, but then she shrugged it off. It was true, after all.  
  
"Demons can have all sorts of forms. I just happen to look mostly human."  
  
Now the spawn was giving her a careful once over.  
  
"That means a part of you doesn't look human? Which part?"  
  
Maze smiled. "My face, actually. Well, half of it."  
  
Trixie looked at her, clearly confused.  
  
"But it looks human." Then her expression cleared. "Oh! Is it like with Lucifer's wings? You're hiding it somehow?"  
  
The demon nodded, impressed.  
  
"Clever girl. Yes, it's a bit like that. You could say that I'm wearing a mask, sort of." She gestured at the right side of her face. "This half of my face really looks the way you see it right now. But the other half doesn't."  
  
"Can I see what it really looks like? Please, I want to know!"  
  
Maze hesitated. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I don't want to scare you."  
  
Now the spawn was bouncing in her seat with excitement. "Oh! Is it really scary? Like a zombie or a monster? I love scary things! Please let me see, Maze. I promise I won't really be scared. Please!"  
  
With a sigh, the demon gave in, hoping that the little terror really would be okay with it.  
  
"Alright."  
  
She looked straight at the girl, gave her a moment to brace herself, and then allowed her glamor to fade away.  
  
Trixie gasped as the human features just melted away, revealing the rotten, corpse-like structures of Maze's demon face. Slowly, a wide grin spread over the little human's face.  
  
"That is so cool!"  
  
The demon smiled as relief coursed through her. The spawn returned the smile, but then became serious again.  
  
"Maze? This is just the way you look, right? It's not something that happened to you."  
  
The demon would forever deny it, but she was touched by the thoughtfulness of the question. Most humans would assume that her features were the result of some horrible accident.  
  
"Yes, this is just the way I look. It's perfectly normal for a demon. Not the result of an injury or disease."  
  
At this, Trixie grinned again.  
  
"So cool."  
  
The girl lifted one hand, but then hesitated.  
  
"It's okay, you can touch. Carefully."  
  
Grinning broadly, the little terror placed her hand gently on Maze's jaw. She stroked it carefully, exploring the unfamiliar textures of the exposed, weathered tendons and muscles. Her fingers wandered forward to the chin, running back and forth over the divide between left and right side there. Then they drifted up to the demon's mouth, where lips gave way to exposed teeth.  
  
Maze just couldn't resist. She opened her mouth and playfully nipped at the girl's fingers, making her draw her hand back with a shriek of laughter. Trixie recovered from the surprise almost immediately, and went back to exploring her friend's features. With wide-eyed wonder, she ran her fingers along the row of teeth, and then up to the cheekbone.  
  
The demon tensed slightly when little fingers came close to her eye, lidless and unprotected in its socket. But the child just skirted the edges of the eye socket, moving on quickly to the forehead. There, she once again ran her fingers back and forth over the dividing line between the demonic and the seemingly human half of her friend's face, clearly fascinated by the stark differences between them.  
  
With a mischievous grin, Maze brought back her glamor just as Trixie's fingers were once again drifting from right side to left. The child gasped and stared at her in wonder.  
  
"It feels real!"  
  
Maze chuckled. "Yes. It wouldn't be a very good mask if it didn't."  
  
"What does it feel like for you when I touch it? Does it feel the same as on the other side?"  
  
"Not quite. Even without the glamor, being touched on the left side feels different than being touched on the right side. With the glamor, it's different again. I can't really describe it, but it's a bit like someone touching your hand when you're wearing a glove."  
  
During her explanation, Trixie had continued running her fingers over the left side of her friend's face. Right now, she was tracing the scar in Maze's eyebrow. The demon let her glamor fade once again, making her friend laugh in delight.  
  
"Awesome! Can you do it again? Please?"  
  
The next few minutes were spent with Maze indulgently letting her glamor fade and return several times while the spawn's fingers roamed all over her demonic features. Finally, the girl drew back and beamed at the demon.  
  
"That is so totally awesome! Thank you for showing me, Maze. You're the coolest friend ever!"  
  
Once again, she hugged the demon. This time, Maze managed to tense only slightly. When the girl pulled away again after a few moments, the demon smiled at her and asked: "So, you're really okay with all this, with me being a demon and Lucifer being the devil?"  
  
"Yes, of course! You're my friends!" Trixie looked at her friend in confusion.  
  
Maze shrugged. "Lots of people would say that you shouldn't be friends with us because we're evil."  
  
The spawn looked completely outraged at that. "But you're not! Lucifer helps mommy catch bad guys, and you both came and saved me from the bad man today. You're good guys!"  
  
This made the demon grimace, even as the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile at the little terror's vehement response.  
  
Trixie noticed her reaction and gave her another quizzical look.  
  
"Okay, first of all, I'm definitely not a guy." That made the girl grin again. "And second, calling a demon good is kind of an insult."  
  
The spawn's face fell at that, and Maze hastened to reassure her. "It's okay, I'm not offended. I know you didn't mean it that way."  
  
"What about Lucifer? Is it bad if I call him good, too?"  
  
"No. He won't mind. In fact, I think you should tell him that you think he's a good guy. He really doesn't like it that so many people think he's evil. Knowing that you don't will make him happy."  
  
"Then I'll tell him when he gets back."  
  
Trixie nodded solemnly, and then fell silent. After a few moments, she looked at her friend again, and Maze braced herself for the next question.  
  
"Maze? Could we get something to eat? I'm really hungry."  
  
The demon smiled. "Sure, no problem. As long as you don't expect me to cook."  
  
"You don't cook?"  
  
"No." Her smile turned into a smirk. "Lucifer has actually forbidden it. He says that not even the damned souls in Hell deserve to be fed the results of my cooking. I'm not even allowed to make sandwiches for anyone but myself."  
  
The spawn giggled at that, making Maze grin.  
  
"Fortunately for you, there's lots of tasty takeaway to choose from in this city. Any preferences?"  
  
"Pizza!"  
  
The demon picked up her tablet from the couch table and quickly opened the website of their usual pizza delivery service. Once Trixie had made her choice, Maze added her usual and sent off the order.  
  
"Alright, pizza should be here in about twenty minutes. How about some cookies to get us through the waiting time?"  
  
The little terror looked torn. "Mom says I'm not allowed to eat sweets before mealtime."  
  
Her friend grinned mischievously. "Well, your mom's not here now, and I certainly won't tell her. So, cookies?"  
  
"Yes!" The spawn was bouncing on the couch in excitement.  
  
Maze got up and motioned for the kid to follow. "Come on, then. I know where Lucifer is hiding the really good stuff. Let's see what he's got."  
  
Together, the demon and the girl set out to loot the personal sweets supplies of the Lord of Hell.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer returns with Detective Decker, and they find out (some of) what Maze and Trixie have been up to.

The soft sound of the elevator doors opening drew Maze's attention away from the group of one child and three other adults sitting around the couch table. She turned her head and watched as Detective Decker and Lucifer came into the penthouse, just in time to be greeted by the spawn's triumphant cry of "Full house! Pay up, suckers!"  
  
The look on Decker's face as she stared over at her daughter was absolutely priceless. The demon smirked.   
  
"What the Hell is going on here?!"  
  
Trixie' head whipped around at this, but she completely ignored her mother when she saw who was standing behind her. The child was off the couch in a flash, barreling toward the devil and managing to wrap herself around him despite his attempts to hide behind the detective.  
  
"Lucifer!"  
  
"Ah. Hello there, little human."  
  
Trixie looked up at him. "You're back. Have you caught the bad man?"  
  
"Yes. Your mother shot him. He is dead."  
  
"Lucifer!" Decker hissed at him, clearly outraged that he would tell her daughter this. The spawn, however, was completely unperturbed.  
  
"Good."  
  
The devil chuckled and gave the girl an approving smile, while her mother stared at the two of them. Trixie looked back and forth between her mom and her friend.  
  
"He didn't hurt you, right? You're both okay?"  
  
The detective hastily reassured her daughter. "Yes, monkey, we're both fine."  
  
Maze frowned when she saw the look that crossed Lucifer's face at that. It was gone again almost immediately, replaced by a reassuring smile directed at the child, but she had seen it. Something had happened, and she was determined to find out what it was as soon as they were alone again.  
  
As she studied him carefully, he seemed to feel her gaze on him and looked up, straight into her eyes. He must have seen her suspicions there, for he gave her a wry smile and a nod, acknowledging the need to talk. Lucifer then turned back to the girl, who was still clinging to him.  
  
"Child? Could you please release me?"  
  
The spawn complied with obvious reluctance, and the devil breathed a sigh of relief and brushed down his suit. When he looked up, he found all the other occupants of the room looking at him with varying degrees of amusement. He narrowed his eyes.  
  
"So, as the detective so eloquently put it, what the Hell is going on here? Looks like someone has been having a lot of fun."   
  
He gave his demon a pointed look, but before Maze could say anything, Trixie piped up.  
  
"Maze taught me how to play poker! But she said we needed more people to play properly, so she got Mika and Sam and Patrick. And she gave me some money to play with." Seeing her mother's thunderous expression, she hastily continued, "But it's okay, she said I only have to pay her back if I win. And then I only have to give back what she gave me, and I get to keep everything else!"  
  
There was a distinct mercenary gleam in her eyes. Lucifer laughed.  
  
"And how has this worked out for you?"  
  
"Well, I did lose some at first." A broad, satisfied grin spread across the girl's face. "But then I won it back. And then I won some more. I've paid Maze back, and I've got almost forty dollars that I can keep!"  
  
"Well done, little human. Very well done indeed!"  
  
Trixie beamed up at him, clearly pleased at his praise. Her mother, however, was obviously not happy about her daughter's accomplishments. She was giving Maze a death glare. It only served to amuse the demon.  
  
"You taught my eight year old daughter how to play poker, and you let her play for money?!"  
  
Maze just arched an eyebrow at her. "Of course. Best way to learn to play well is if you have the proper incentive to win." She smirked. "We tried playing for cookies first, but that didn't work. Too much temptation. Cash works much better."  
  
Lucifer had been grinning in amusement, but at the mention of cookies, his expression darkened. A quick glance at the couch table confirmed his suspicions, and he scowled at his demon.   
  
"Maze. Are those my favorite double chocolate chip cookies you have been using?"  
  
That only got him an arched eyebrow, too. "What, did you expect me to feed our guest - my friend - second-rate sweets?"  
  
"Of course not. But did it have to be my favorite cookies?" The devil was getting perilously close to pouting.  
  
"The little terror likes them best, too."   
  
"Of course she does." Lucifer sounded distinctly put out.  
  
"Oh, stop whining." Maze ignored his scowl and continued before he could voice his protest. "I've already called the bakery. Dionne promised to make a double batch first thing tomorrow morning and send them over as soon as they're done."  
  
This statement elicited a deep sigh of relief, causing giggles from the girl and muffled laughs from the group around the table. Maze suppressed her own grin as Lucifer's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Patrick. Mika. Sam. Isn't it time you got back to work?"  
  
The three humans hastily scrambled to their feet, said their goodbyes to the girl, and disappeared in the elevator. The devil watched their flight with smug satisfaction. Then he turned his attention to the Detective. The woman spoke up before he could say anything.  
  
"Trixie and I should be going, too."  
  
"But I don't want to go yet!" The child made puppy dog eyes at her mother. "Please, can't we stay just a bit longer?"  
  
Detective Decker remained firm. "No, monkey. It's past your bedtime already, and you've got school tomorrow."  
  
The spawn pouted and gave a wordless whine. Maze bit back a smirk when she saw the way the detective tensed up at this. The woman was clearly expecting further resistance.  
  
But instead of throwing a tantrum, the little terror once again gazed up at her mother with big, pleading eyes. "Mommy? Can Maze pick me up from school next Thursday and look after me until you get home from work?"  
  
Decker stared at her daughter, clearly conflicted. It was obvious that she did not like the idea of her child spending any more time with the demon. But it was equally clear that a refusal would result in a lot of protestations and uncomfortable questions from the girl.  
  
Lucifer, meanwhile, was looking back and forth between his demon and the little terror with a mixture of astonishment and suspicion.   
  
Seeing her mother's hesitation, Trixie decided to increase the pressure. "Please, mommy, can she? She looked after me really well today, and kept me safe from the bad man! And I promise I'll do all my homework and be really good if you let Maze look after me next Thursday."  
  
With a sigh, Detective Decker gave in. "Okay, yes. Maze can pick you up from school next Thursday and look after you that afternoon."  
  
The spawn squealed happily and threw herself at her mother, hugging the woman enthusiastically. Decker returned the hug for a few moments, then gently detached herself.  
  
 "Alright monkey, time to go home."  
  
Trixie nodded and ran over to Maze. She hugged her friend, making the demon grimace slightly, even as she wrapped her arms around the girl.  
  
"Bye, Maze. You'll come pick me up next Thursday?"  
  
"Of course. I promise."  
  
Reassured, the child pulled away.  
  
"Don't forget your winnings!"   
  
Maze grinned as the girl gave a wordless exclamation and rushed over to the table. She quickly gathered up the money lying there and stuffed it into her pocket, then headed back to her mom.  
  
At the last moment, she veered off to the side and once again wrapped herself around Lucifer. The devil grimaced and looked down at her in dismay.  
  
"Really child, is this unpleasantness absolutely necessary? Can't you save it for your mum?"  
  
The spawn just grinned up at him and shook her head. Then she became serious. "Lucifer? Thank you for protecting me from the bad man, and for helping mommy catch him."  
  
"You're welcome, little human." He gave her a soft, sincere smile.  
  
Trixie nodded, and continued, "I don't care that you're the devil. You're a good guy. And you're my friend, and I really like you."  
  
Lucifer looked away, clearly flustered. "Yes well, you're not so bad either. Quite tolerable really, for a human spawn."  
  
The little terror giggled, gave his waist an affectionate squeeze, and then released her hold on him and bounded over to her mother. She took the woman's hand and practically dragged her over to the elevator. When the doors opened, the two humans stepped in. Trixie quickly pushed the button, and then turned and waved at her friends as the doors began to close.  
  
"Bye Maze, bye Lucifer!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maze and Lucifer talk about the events of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: feelings.

Once the elevator doors were closed, Lucifer turned to his demon.  
  
"Strange little creature. I wonder what that was all about."  
  
Maze had been grinning at him, but now her expression became serious, causing the devil to look at her suspiciously.  
  
"Maze?"  
  
The demon sighed. "She knows. She saw your wings."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"When you flew to the school, she was looking out of the window, watching for our arrival. She saw you land."  
  
Lucifer swore under his breath. "Maze, if she saw them-"  
  
"She's okay."  
  
Seeing his skeptical look, she rolled her eyes. "You saw her just now. Did it look like she was under the influence of your divinity?"  
  
That gave the devil pause. He thought for a few moments, then reluctantly conceded the point.  
  
"No. Same annoyingly clingy little parasite as always. Definitely no signs of awe or worship. Are you sure she wasn't affected?"  
  
"Yes. I asked her about it, and she doesn't show any of the symptoms. She's fine."  
  
He gave a relieved sigh. "So, when you say she knows, exactly how much does she know?"  
  
Maze shrugged. "She knows you're the devil and an angel, and that I'm a demon. Seems seeing you land at her school with your wings out, and then finding them gone after she looked away for a moment, was enough for her to figure it out all by herself."  
  
Lucifer raised an eyebrow at that, clearly impressed. "Clever little critter."  
  
Maze grinned. "Yes, she is. She just asked me to confirm that you're both the devil and an angel, but it was clear that she already believed it. She'll probably ask you to show her the wings the next time she's here. They did make a bit of an impression on her, despite not affecting her."  
  
"Indeed?" Lucifer's smile was decidedly smug.  
  
The demon rolled her eyes. "Yes. Apparently, they are cool, and really pretty."  
  
The devil preened at this, clearly pleased that the spawn had praised his feathered assets.  
  
"Well of course they are."  
  
He drew himself up and unfurled his wings, spreading them out and folding them back in several times, showing off. Maze shook her head and rolled her eyes again, but the corners of her mouth were twitching upwards in amusement.  
  
"No need to put on a show for me, I've seen it all before. Save it for the spawn. I'm sure she will appreciate it and be properly impressed."  
  
For a moment, she considered warning him that the little terror was likely to take a hands-on approach to showing her appreciation. Then she dismissed the thought. He'd just have to deal with it when it happened, no need to spoil the kid's fun.  
  
Lucifer pouted slightly, but he stopped waving his wings around.  
  
"So, apart from expressing the proper appreciation for my wings, what else did the spawn have to say?"  
  
"She asked a lot of questions." Maze smirked. "Wanted to know why I look human when I'm a demon."  
  
"And what did you say to that?"  
  
"I told her that demons come in all sorts of forms, and I just happen to look mostly human."  
  
"Let me guess: her next question was which part of you doesn't look human."  
  
"Of course."  
  
When she didn't continue, he prompted: "And did you tell her?"  
  
Maze sighed again. "Yes. And when she asked me to show her, I did."  
  
Lucifer stared at her for several seconds, but the demon's expression gave nothing away.  
  
"I'm assuming she took it reasonably well, since the two of you are apparently having babysitting dates now."  
  
At this, a wide grin spread over her face. "She was absolutely fine with it. And she didn't assume that it was the result of an injury or something like that!"  
  
The devil smiled at that, knowing how much his demon hated that particular assumption. Mazikeen had always been proud of her demonic features.  
  
Maze's eyes were shining as she went on. "I let her touch me, and we played around with my glamor a bit. She wasn't scared or disgusted by it. She liked touching me!"  
  
It was clear that her little friend's reaction meant a lot to the demon. Lucifer could understand that. He reached out and stroked her left cheek gently, willing away the glamor so he could touch her true face. Maze leaned into it, humming contentedly. Lucifer's smile turned into a smirk.  
  
"I like touching you, too." He purred.  
  
That made his demon roll her eyes at him. "Yeah, but you're the devil. She's a human. A human who thinks my face is totally awesome!"  
  
Lucifer grumbled good-naturedly. "Typical. Divine angelic wings? Pretty. Demonic face? Totally awesome."  
  
"Someone's jealous!" Maze sing-songed, then laughed as the devil took offense, wings flaring out, feathers quite literally ruffled.  
  
"Am not!"  
  
She just blew a raspberry at him in response to that, making him scowl and mutter under his breath about insolence and lack of respect. The demon simply laughed.  
  
"You're the one who told me always to be honest with you and to speak my mind."  
  
Lucifer gave her another dark look, but he was forced to concede the point.  
  
"So, did the little terror ask any other questions that I should know about?"  
  
At this, Maze became serious again.  
  
"She asked about you. Told me that when she met you for the first time, you scared a girl who'd been bullying her. She wanted to know if you had a scary face, too."  
  
The devil had tensed up and was now looking at his demon with a carefully neutral expression.  
  
"And what did you tell her?"  
  
Maze averted her eyes and lowered her head. "I told her the truth."  
  
Hearing his sharp intake of breath, she looked up again. "I know that I shouldn't have done it. Those are your secrets, and I have no right to tell others about them. But I didn't want to lie to her, and I didn't want her to ask you about it."  
  
Lucifer studied her for a moment, and then stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. "It's alright. You did the right thing. Thank you, my darling, for protecting me once again."  
  
He smiled softly at the sigh of relief coming from his demon, and wrapped his wings around her, rubbing them gently against her bare arms. This drew a contented hum from her and she snuggled into his embrace. It felt good to just hold her like this, and he remained silent for a few minutes, enjoying the physical contact.  
  
Eventually, his curiosity became too strong. "Maze? How much exactly did you tell the spawn?"  
  
"I tried to stick to the bare facts. Told her that you did have another face, and that you could make your eyes burn with the fires of Hell. No horns or tail, though. She asked about that."  
  
Lucifer chuckled. "Of course she did. Was she very disappointed?"  
  
"A bit." Maze hesitated a moment, then went on. "She asked me for details of your face. I gave her a basic description. I also told her that yours wasn't like mine. That it wasn't just the way you've always looked, but the result of something that happened to you."  
  
She pulled back slightly so she could look into his eyes. "She was very concerned about that. Worried about you being in pain. I had to explain to her that it happened a long time ago, and that you didn't suffer any physical pain anymore."  
  
Lucifer was touched that the child had been concerned about the devil being hurt. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I'm beginning to think that I might actually have to like the little maggot."  
  
Maze smirked at this. "She's quite a likable little beast. Clever, too. She guessed that you got hurt in the Fall. Asked me some questions about it."  
  
Seeing the devil's questioning look, she went on. "I gave her the basic facts. That you had a fight with your father, and that he threw you out of Heaven, literally. That you fell all the way to Hell, and got hurt badly." She looked up at him with a grim smile. "The spawn is completely outraged about that, by the way. Called your daddy dearest mean and bad, and said he should be in jail for what he did to you."  
  
The demon's approval of this reaction was plain in her voice and expression.  
  
A wide smile spread over Lucifer's face, even though his eyes glistened conspicuously.  
  
"Now I really have to like her."  
  
Maze grinned. "Yes, you do. After all, she's our friend."  
  
"True."  
  
Anybody who was worried about his wellbeing and thought his father should be in jail definitely deserved to be called a friend.  
  
"Sounds like you two spent the whole afternoon talking."  
  
That made the demon scoff. "You mean it sounds like she spent the whole afternoon interrogating me."  
  
Lucifer laughed. "I guess she does take after her mother there. Though she seems much more open-minded when it comes to my true nature. She really is fine with that, isn't she?"  
  
"You heard her yourself. She doesn't care that you're the devil, you're her friend and a good guy. She likes you a lot, you know. Me, too."  
  
The devil grinned. "You like me, Mazie?"  
  
She scowled at him and gave him a slap on the shoulder that was just short of painful. "You know what I mean."  
  
"Oh, come on, Maze. Admit it, you do like me." He used his wings to pull her in closer, then leaned down to nuzzle her cheek. "It's okay. I like you, too."  
  
Maze muttered a few highly uncomplimentary things about arrogant devils, but she did lean into the embrace, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.  Lucifer smiled and once again stroked her sides and back gently with his wings.  
  
He purred seductively. "Want me to show you just how much I like you?"  
  
To his surprise, his demon drew back, gently but firmly pushed his wings away, and fixed him with a hard look. "Later. First I want to know what happened while you were out hunting down that scumbag with the detective."  
  
"What makes you think anything happened?"  
  
His look of faux innocence set her teeth on edge.  
  
"Lucifer."  
  
The devil sighed. "I need a drink for this."  
  
He turned towards his bar, and then grimaced and swore under his breath when he caught sight of the destruction there. Maze rolled her eyes, stepped past him, and produced a bottle of scotch and two glasses from somewhere below the counter. She moved over to the couch, poured two large drinks, grabbed one for herself, and settled down. Lucifer tucked his wings away and sat down beside her, picked up the other drink, drained and refilled it.  
  
Then he drew a deep breath and turned to his demon.  
  
"We tracked Malcolm down to a private hangar at the airport. When we got there, Detective Decker insisted on splitting up to search for him." He paused and took another sip of his drink. "He got the drop on her. Had her at gunpoint, and was just about to shoot her when I caught up with them. I pushed her out of the way just as he pulled the trigger."  
  
Maze looked at him in alarm.  
  
"He shot you."  
  
Lucifer nodded solemnly.  
  
"Yes. He shot me, and nothing happened. I didn't bleed. No pain, not the slightest scratch on me. Not even a hole in my shirt." He smiled wryly. "Seems my little mortality problem has disappeared."  
  
His demon stared at him, her eyes wide.  
  
"Another side effect of the feather?"  
  
He shrugged. "That would be the obvious explanation, wouldn't it?"  
  
"But you don't believe it."  
  
Lucifer sighed. "Yes and no. I do believe that using the feather is what caused my mortality to disappear. But I can't help wondering..." He broke off and sighed again. "The feather was powerful, but it came from me. It was the same power that's already inside me, and that - until now - was susceptible to the Detective's mortalizing influence. So how could it suddenly make me immune?"  
  
Maze frowned. "Perhaps the amount of power in you made the difference."  
  
"It's possible."  
  
Her frown deepened and she looked at him suspiciously. "There's something you're not telling me. Something that makes you think there's another reason for your sudden lack of mortality."  
  
Lucifer sighed once more. "Remember when I told you that the divine energy from the feather didn't want to bond with your demonic energy, and that I had to force it into you?"  
  
His demon nodded.  
  
"It was a little more complicated than that. The energy from the feather tried to get into me, to unite with the divine essence already inside me. I did my best to block it and push it into you instead, but that was taking too much of my strength. So I stopped struggling, let the energy flow into me, and pulled on my own power and pushed that into you."  
  
He took another sip of his drink, and continued. "But it still didn't want to bond with your demonic energy. Some of the power that I was pushing into you flowed back to me. So I kept pushing, kept forcing it deeper into you, making it bond with your energy. And gradually, it worked. But there were still two energy flows, one from me to you, and one from you to me. And as I continued pushing, they formed a sort of circuit."  
  
He paused and looked straight ahead unseeingly, reliving those moments. "It felt absolutely incredible. And it just grew more and more intense, until it made me black out."  
  
They both remained silent for several moments. Then Maze said, "You think some of my demonic energy got into you through that circuit and tainted your divine energy, and that's why Decker's influence no longer works on you."  
  
"Not tainted." Lucifer spoke firmly, his tone brooking no argument. "Got a bit mixed up perhaps, or blended. But never tainted." He smiled softly at her and reached out to touch her cheek. "No part of you could ever be a taint to me."  
  
Maze returned the smile and leaned into his touch.  
  
"Alright, mixed or blended, then. But that's what you think happened, right?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Yes." Lucifer hesitated for a second, then went on. "There's another reason why I believe this is what happened. I think I developed your ability to sense me." He grimaced. "Well, not sense me, exactly. But I seem to be able to sense you the way you can sense me."  
  
Maze just looked at him inquiringly.  
  
"When I was getting the Detective's offspring away from her school earlier today, she asked me where you were. And the moment she asked the question, I knew you were two blocks away, and in your usual SUV, driving like the speed-demon you are towards us. The knowledge was just suddenly there in my head. And the same thing happened when I met up with Detective Decker. She was worried about her offspring, wondering what the two of you were getting up to. And I simply knew that you were here, sitting on the couch and stuffing your faces with pizza. That really happened, right?"  
  
"We did not stuff our faces," Maze protested, "or at least I didn't. But yes, the little terror and I did have pizza for lunch."  
  
"Before or after you annihilated my chocolate cookies?"  
  
His demon smirked. "Both. We had some to get us over the waiting time until the pizza arrived, and then a few more for dessert, and then ate the rest when I taught her to play poker."  
  
Lucifer muttered something about wasting perfectly good cookies, making Maze roll her eyes at him. Then she became serious once more.  
  
"What you describe does sound exactly like my sense for you. So, you really have some of my demonic energy in you now."  
  
He smiled at that. "Yes, I do."  
  
"You don't mind it?"  
  
"No. If this is the price for saving your life, then it's more than worth it." His smile widened. "Besides, I like the idea of having a bit of my favorite demon in me."  
  
This clearly pleased Maze, and she smiled in return. Lucifer chuckled softly, but then became thoughtful.  
  
"Of course, you realize that this process went both ways, don't you? You now have some divine energy inside you, too."  
  
"I know." She grimaced.  
  
Lucifer gave a slight pout. "You don't like it?"  
  
"I wouldn't mind if it was just your energy. It's the connection with the rest of your family that I'm not happy about."  
  
Now it was his turn to grimace. "Yes, I don't particularly like that aspect of it, either." Then a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Still, can you imagine how they will feel about it? I can practically hear the howls of outrage already!"  
  
Maze grinned broadly. "Oh yeah." Then her grin faded. "Do you think they'll try to do something about it?"  
  
Lucifer's eyes flared fiery red. "If they try anything, they'll find out exactly what the Lord of Hell is capable of."  
  
In response, his demon leaned over and kissed him passionately. He returned the kiss enthusiastically, reaching for her and pulling her closer until Maze was straddling him.  
  
When they finally ended the kiss, she nuzzled his cheek and murmured: "I don't mind having divine energy in me, as long as it's yours." She smirked and ground her hips against him. "In fact, I like having a bit of the devil inside me."  
  
Lucifer moaned at the exquisitely pleasurable feeling of her rubbing against him.  
  
"Would you like to have a lot more of the devil inside you, my darling?"  
  
Maze chuckled throatily. "Oh yeah."  
  
With a grin, Lucifer wrapped his arms around her and stood up, lifting her easily. Maze automatically wrapped her legs around him and let him carry her into his bedroom. There, he put her down on his bed and then quickly took off his suit jacket and shirt, unfurling his wings before he joined her.  
  
Time to show his demon just how much he liked her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maze and Lucifer would like to point out that what they are doing is not hugging. It may sort of look like hugging, but it's not. It's a devil/demon thing that has nothing to do with mushy human emotions. Just trust them on that. ;-)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maze and Lucifer find out that he is not the only one who has to deal with unforseen consequences of the feather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: angst, feelings, and explicit smut.

"Bloody Hell!"  
  
Lucifer's shout abruptly pulled Maze from sleep. She pushed herself up, only to freeze immediately as she felt something on her back. Some _things_. Things that were attached to her. She could feel them. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she let her head fall back onto the pillow. A whimper escaped her as the movement made the things on her back move, too.  
  
"I've got fucking wings on my back, haven't I?"  
  
She took the strangled sound coming from Lucifer as confirmation and groaned.  
  
"Tell me they're not white and fluffy. Please."  
  
At that, the devil found speech again. "Hey! What's wrong with white and fluffy wings? I thought you liked them!"  
  
Maze growled. "I like them _on you_. You're an angel, they're appropriate for you."  
  
"I'm the Devil!"  
  
"And also an archangel. Anyway, white and fluffy wings are appropriate for your kind. And they look good on you." She didn't need to see him to know he was preening. "But I'm a demon. Fluffy white wings are ridiculous on a demon."  
  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Think how lovely the white feathers look against your beautiful bronze skin. Imagine the stunning contrast between the fluffy wings and your wonderful demonic face. It'll be absolutely marvelous!"  
  
He sounded almost giddy at the thought. Maze shook her head decisively, keeping her eyes tightly closed.  
  
"No. It'll be absolutely ridiculous. I'll be a laughingstock. Not even the damned souls in Hell will take me seriously anymore. Certainly not the other demons. They'd hunt me down and kill me, and then nail my corpse to the wall as a trophy. The demon with angel wings."  
  
"I would never let that happen, Mazikeen." There was Hellfire in Lucifer's voice. It made warmth spread deep inside his demon, but it didn't change the facts.  
  
"And you won't have to, because I'm not keeping them."  
  
"Maze-"  
  
"No. I am not going to walk around with fucking angel wings on my back. Not even for you."  
  
With that, Maze groped around until she found the demon dagger hidden in the bed frame. She pulled it out and held it out to the devil.  
  
"Cut them off. Please."  
  
He gave a sharp gasp. "Maze, no."  
  
"Lucifer please."  
  
"Mazikeen. It's alright, I promise. There is no reason to cut off your wings. They are not white and fluffy." He sighed. "I was just teasing you, and I'm sorry about that. I should have realized how disturbing this must be for you."  
  
"You promise they're not white and fluffy?" Maze asked suspiciously.  
  
"You have my word," Lucifer answered solemnly. "Your wings are neither white nor fluffy. Not feathered at all, actually. You've got an entirely different type of wings. Somehow. Perfectly appropriate ones for a demon."  
  
Somewhat reassured but still wary, Maze turned her head to the side and cautiously opened her eyes.  
  
The first thing she saw was a large wickedly curved claw. It sat right at the wrist joint of the wing that arched up over her shoulder. Well, that was certainly a good start. Slowly, she let her gaze drift from the claw to the actual wing. Lucifer was right, it was very different from angel wings.  
  
Dark skin stretched over a frame of slender bones. Maze concentrated for a moment and carefully stretched out the wing so she could get a better look. It was large, though not quite as large as Lucifer's wings. Bat-like in structure, with three long, jointed fingers extending from the wrist joint, each ending in another sharp, curved claw. A thin membrane of skin stretched out between them, the arm bones of the wing, and her back.  
  
Studying the skin more closely, the demon realized that it was completely covered in tiny black scales. Not so much bat-like then, as perhaps reptilian. Or dragon-like. The scales were smooth and slightly pointed, with a sheen like silk. Moving the wing a bit, she noticed that they had a faint red shimmer when the light hit them just right.  
  
Maze carefully extended her hand and touched the edge of her wing, shuddering at the strange dual sensation of touching and being touched. The scales felt perfectly smooth, hard and dry, and were surprisingly warm. Like tiny pebbles on a beach that had lain in the sun all day.  
  
She ran her fingers lightly over the scales, and once again shuddered at the strange new sensation of being touched on a part of her body that had never been touched before. She watched in fascination as the shudder ran down the wing, the scales shivering under her fingers. Despite the fact that they were hard and tough and had no nerve endings, she could feel every touch quite strongly. Her wings appeared to be exquisitely sensitive. Maze hoped that this would pass once she got used to them.  
  
"Beautiful."  
  
The demon startled at the sudden sound of Lucifer's voice. Tearing her gaze away from her wing, she looked around and found him leaning against the frame of one of the windows, watching her with frank appreciation in his eyes. His own wings were folded tightly against his back.  
  
Maze smiled at his compliment, and then carefully pushed herself up until she was kneeling in the middle of the bed. She turned around until she was facing the foot of it, and then slowly extended both wings to their full length. Thankfully, the room was big enough to allow this. She folded them back in and spread them out again several times, getting used to the sensations. The corners of her mouth curved up as she saw the way Lucifer was watching them, the expression on his face close to awe.  
  
"Absolutely magnificent."  
  
Maze smiled and preened, pleased with his appreciation. "Yes, they're pretty good, aren't they? And appropriate for a demon." Her smile faded as a thought occurred to her. "But how am I supposed to live with them? I can't go out amongst the humans with wings on my back."  
  
Lucifer frowned at that. "Can't you tuck them away?"  
  
"How?"  
  
"You know, like this." To demonstrate, he pushed himself away from the window frame, spread out his wings, folded them back in, and made them disappear.  
  
Maze shot him an annoyed look. "No, I don't know. In case you've forgotten already, I've never had wings before."  
  
Lucifer smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Alright, let's try this. Fold your wings tightly against your back. Now concentrate on them, how they feel, how the air feels against them. There should be a sort of spot or area there that feels slightly different, like you're leaning against a wall that has a hole in it. When you've found that spot, you simply slide your wings into it, like sliding your arm into a sleeve."  
  
Maze frowned as she tried to follow his instructions. She closed her eyes to better concentrate on the sensations coming from her wings, but it all felt so strange and new that she had trouble keeping herself from being overwhelmed by the intensity of it all.  
  
Just as she was about to give up in frustration, she suddenly felt something. Like a soft breeze coming through a narrow gap. She concentrated as hard as she could on this sensation, and then, suddenly, something shifted.  
  
"There you go! Well done, my darling."  
  
Maze opened her eyes and found Lucifer right in front of her, grinning proudly. She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. There was no sign of her wings anywhere. And yet she could still feel them. She shifted around carefully on the bed until she was lying on her back.  
  
"This is so weird. I can still feel them, but I can also feel my back just like it used to be without the wings."  
  
Lucifer chuckled. "Yes, it is weird, but you'll soon get used to it." He reached out and took her hand, pulling her up into a sitting position again. "Now bring them back out."  
  
Maze concentrated for a moment, and then felt the rush of air against her wings as they unfurled behind her. With a grin, she spread them out and flapped them a bit.  
  
"Excellent! Now tuck them away again."  
  
This time it only took her a moment to comply. Now that she knew what to do, it was easy. She proceeded to unfurl her wings and tuck them away again several times, until she hardly had to think about it at all.  
  
Lucifer was watching her the whole time, grinning broadly. When she tucked them away and gave him a triumphant smile, he laughed in delight.  
  
"Very well done, Maze! You're much better at this than most of my siblings. The majority of them can barely manage to tuck their wings away at all. Some of them never learn it."  
  
His demon smirked. "Always knew your siblings were idiots. This is easy."  
  
She tilted her head slightly. "But what about clothes? I've seen you bring out your wings while you were wearing clothes, but how does that work?"  
  
The devil shrugged. "The wings just go through the fabric somehow. I don't know how it works exactly, but it does." He picked up his dressing gown from the chair in the corner and handed it to her. "Here, try it."  
  
Maze put the gown on and then hesitated. When Lucifer gave her a nod and a reassuring smile, she took a deep breath, braced herself, and unfurled her wings.  
  
"Huh. Feels weird."  
  
He laughed. "At the risk of repeating myself, you'll get used to it. Just don't -" But his warning came too late. Maze was already sliding the dressing gown off her shoulders.  
  
"Ugh!" She flinched as it fell to the mattress, passing through the bases of her wings without difficulty.  
  
"- take off the clothes with your wings out, because that feels really seriously weird." Lucifer sighed.  
  
His demon glared at him. "Thanks for the warning."  
  
"It's not my fault that you didn't wait until I'd finished my sentence."  
  
That got him an annoyed look, but she was forced to concede the point. Lucifer just smirked at this typical reaction.  
  
"Now, if you want to put your clothes back on, you have to tuck your wings away first. Once the clothes are off, they won't go through the wings again."  
  
He moved around the bed until he could kneel on it behind her, lifted up the discarded dressing gown, and gently draped it over her back and her folded wings. Maze suppressed a gasp at the feeling of the smooth silk sliding against her sensitive new appendages. Instinctively, she spread out the wings, causing the gown to slip from them. This time, she couldn't hold back a soft moan.  
  
"Maze?" Lucifer sounded concerned.  
  
"I'm alright. Just. Intense."  
  
"Oh."  
  
As the full implications of her words dawned on him, an absolutely filthy grin spread across the devil's face.  
  
"May I touch you, my darling?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
As soon as his demon gave him permission, Lucifer shifted until he was kneeling right behind her. He lifted his hands and placed them gently on either side of her neck, carefully avoiding any contact with her wings. After giving Maze a moment to brace herself, he slowly ran his hands down to the juncture between her back and her wings, and then out along the wing bones.  
  
The moment he had reached the base of her wings and started touching them, his demon had let out a low moan and shuddered deeply. Maze had thought touching them herself and feeling the silk of the dressing gown slide against her wings was intense. But it was nothing compared to having someone else, having Lucifer touch her.  
  
The devil watched in fascination as the shudder ran down the wings, shivering the scales beneath his hands. His demon's wings were completely different from his own, and from the wings of his other family members. And to him, they were absolutely beautiful, utterly right for her. The blend of tough scales and slender, seemingly delicate bones, the sharp claws and the thin wing membrane, all suited her perfectly, complementing and enhancing her demonic beauty.  
  
When Lucifer's fingers reached the claws at the wrist joints of Maze's wings, he paused in his movements. With great care, he traced their curves with his fingertips, noting how they tapered to a sharp point. He gently touched the point of the right claw with his index finger, only to draw back again immediately. His eyes widened as he watched a drop of blood well up. Lifting the hand to his mouth, he sucked the blood off the digit before resuming his explorations.  
  
He abandoned the right wing and concentrated entirely on the left one. Reaching down, he slid his right forearm beneath the lower edge of the wing so he could touch its underside. He laid his hand flat against the wing membrane, stroking it gently, studying the way it felt when he moved in different directions.  
  
The tiny scales were smooth and hard, and fit together seamlessly. When he stroked in the direction they lay, the surface felt almost slick, despite being completely dry. When he ran his hand very lightly in the opposite direction, he could feel the points of the scales scraping against his skin.  
  
Maze flinched slightly and made a small sound of protest, and he hastily stopped his actions and apologized.  
  
"It's okay. Just don't do that again."  
  
"I'm sorry, my darling. I didn't want to hurt you."  
  
"You didn't. It just feels weird. Intense, and a bit uncomfortable. But not really painful."  
  
"I promise I won't do it again. But can I continue to touch you?"  
  
When she nodded, he carefully put his hand against the underside of her wing again. This time, he didn't move it around, instead pressing gently against the membrane. It yielded to the pressure, stretching out slightly. He was fascinated to see the way the scales on the upper side of the wing shifted as the surface was pushed out towards him, the outline of his hand clearly discernible.  
  
Lifting his left hand, he carefully put it right over the place where his right one was pushing against the wing. He reduced the pressure and simply held the wing membrane between his hands, marveling at how thin it was, despite the covering of tough scales.  
  
He suddenly wondered how those scales tasted. Did they have the same taste as Maze's skin, or were they different? Without hesitation, he leaned forward and gave the wing a lick. The taste was unquestionably Maze. Very similar to her skin, but there was a subtle difference there, something he couldn't place. It was fascinating and intoxicating. He had to have more of it.  
  
Taking care always to go in the direction of the scales, he licked several different spots on the wing, exploring the different textures of wing bones, membrane, and the area where the wing met Mazikeen's back. When she moved the wing slightly, he reached up and placed a hand on the upper edge, holding it steady as he worked his way across the surface. He began altering his licking with open-mouthed kisses and gentle sucking.  
  
Reaching one of the wing's fingers, he followed its path across the membrane, nibbling at the scaled ridge in the smooth surface.  
  
Suddenly, Maze gave a cry and pulled the wing out of his grasp. Looking up in alarm, Lucifer found his demon leaning forward, bracing herself against the mattress with outstretched arms. She was panting hard, her skin covered with a light sheen of sweat. Her whole body was wracked with shudders, the wings flapping feebly.  
  
Lucifer's eyes grew wide as he realized what had happened. "Maze? Did you just..."  
  
He trailed off as she nodded. "Just from me licking your wing?"  
  
She nodded again. A smug smile spread across the devil's face. "Wow."  
  
He could hardly believe it: he had given his demon a major orgasm without even trying, just by licking and sucking on her wing! He felt himself harden at the thought. It was one of the biggest turn-ons he had ever experienced.  
  
Hearing the smugness in his voice, Maze turned her head and gave him a heated glare. "Don't get all smug about it, it's just because my wings are so damned sensitive. I really hope that passes once I get used to them."  
  
"Oh, but that would be a shame." He shifted until he was kneeling right behind her with his legs spread apart, and then leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing himself against her back. "Think of all the fun we can have."  
  
He thrust his hips forward, letting her feel just how much he had been affected by what had just happened. Maze immediately lifted her hips and thrust back against him.  He gasped when her wet heat rubbed against his erection.  
  
She gave a low growl. "Less talk, more action."  
  
Lucifer chuckled. "As you wish, my darling."  
  
With one move, he sheathed himself in her completely, and then set up a rhythm of deep, hard thrusts. Maze moaned in appreciation, her wings flapping slightly as she moved in counterpoint to him.  
  
Feeling her wings move against his chest reminded Lucifer just how sensitive they were. Grinning widely, he stretched out his own wings and brought them forward, pressing them against his demon's.    
  
Maze moaned and cursed loudly at the contact, and he found himself echoing her. The sensation of her wings pressing back against his, scales sliding against feathers with their thrusts, was exquisitely pleasurable. He had always loved it when she played with his wings during sex, but this was so much more intense.  
  
There was something incredibly intimate in this wing to wing contact, something that triggered a deeply primal instinct in him. He held his demon more tightly and accelerated the speed of his thrusts, wanting to possess her completely, to drive her over the edge.  
  
The loud moans Maze gave left no doubt that she was enjoying his increased efforts. She called out for more, urging him to go faster, harder. Her hips were pushing back against him with almost bruising force.  
  
Lucifer could tell she was getting close, which was good since he doubted that he would be able to hold out much longer. Leaning back slightly, he bowed his head and began placing open-mouthed kisses on the back of her neck and along her spine, murmuring encouragements against her skin.  
  
"Yes. That's it. Come for me. Come for me, my love."  
  
With that, he placed his mouth at the juncture of her back and her right wing, just where the first tiny scales were sprouting, and sucked hard. With something between a scream and a snarl, Maze came, her inner muscles clamping down hard on him. It was enough to make him tumble over the edge, too.  
  
He gave one last, hard thrust, burying himself deeply inside her as he came. The pleasure rolled over him like a wave, filling him completely, burning away all coherent thoughts.  
  
****  
  
When awareness returned, Lucifer found himself lying on top of his demon, who had collapsed forward and was sprawled out on the bed. With a groan, he carefully pulled himself upright and then gently nudged her right wing several times until she folded it against her back. This gave him the room to let himself fall down next to her.  
  
His own wings were still spread out, the right one hanging off the side of the bed, while the left one lay across Maze's back, covering her. She hummed contentedly and shifted slightly, snuggling down under the soft feathers. Lucifer smiled gently and simply lay there for a while, quietly enjoying the afterglow of the fantastic sex they'd just had.  
  
Eventually, he roused himself and spoke: "I think we should leave LA for a few days."  
  
His demon turned her head towards him, opened her eyes and gave him a quizzical look. He shrugged.  
  
"Find ourselves a nice, secluded spot away from human eyes where we can stretch our wings, so to speak."  
  
He reached out and ran a finger lightly down the edge of her wing, making her shiver. "I want to fly with you."  
  
Maze stared at him, eyes widening as she took in the naked longing in his gaze. They had flown together several times in the past, with him carrying her in his arms as he soared through the air. But this would be an entirely different kind of flying together.  
  
"Yes. I want to fly with you, too."  
  
A brilliant smile spread across Lucifer's face, and he leaned forward and kissed her. His eyes were sparkling when he pulled back.  
  
"You know, I think I know the ideal place. A nice little holiday cabin. Cozy. Private."  
  
"Close to water?"  
  
The devil rolled his eyes at that question, but his smile was fond. His demon's love for water and swimming never ceased to surprise and amuse him. For a creature created in the fires of Hell, it was such an incongruity.  
  
"Yes. Right at its own private lake, in fact. Time to call in a favor." With that, he folded in his wings - which earned him a soft whine of protest from his demon - and got up. As soon as he was off the bed, Maze spread out her right wing again, and gave every indication of dozing off.  
  
Lucifer frowned and nudged her once more. "Hey. No going to sleep. If we're going to leave town for a little while, there are things to take care of first, and I need your assistance for that."  
  
The demon opened one eye and glared up at him. "Later. Nap first."  
  
With that, she closed her eye again and relaxed. Lucifer stared down at her, amusement turning up the corners of his mouth.  
  
"You've slept the whole night, and now you want to take a nap?"  
  
"Mmhm. Stressful morning. Sleepy. Nap."  
  
The smile on the devil's face widened into a grin. His demon was just too cute when she was halfway asleep and barely coherent. Not that he would ever tell her this. Contrary to what she thought, he did have some sense of self-preservation, thank you very much. He left her in his bed and went to his office to get the contact information for the favor he was about to call in.  
  
Once the call was concluded to his satisfaction - the cabin would be ready for them by this afternoon, fully stocked with everything he had requested - he returned to the bedroom to wake Maze and get her to help with the other arrangements. But when he stepped through the open doorway, he suddenly found himself yawning widely. Maybe a little nap was not such a bad idea.  
  
Unfortunately, his demon was still sprawled across his bed with her wings out, taking up almost all the space and leaving no room for him to lie down. He nudged her wing a few times, but there was no reaction. Huffing in annoyance, he stared down at the sleeping figure. Then a smile spread across his face as a solution for his dilemma occurred to him.  
  
He grasped the edge of her left wing gently and carefully lifted it up just enough to allow him to slide onto the bed beneath it. Once he was stretched out on the mattress, he released the wing and made himself comfortable, lying on his stomach with his head pillowed on his arms, his own wings folded back and covered by Maze's wing. The demon murmured in her sleep and moved slightly, but she did not wake.  
  
Lucifer sighed happily, surprised how good it felt to lie there under her wing. It was deliciously warm against his own wings. And it made him feel safe, protected, cared for. Deciding not to dwell on the possible reasons for this, he relaxed completely, and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go. I'm not quite done with those two yet. And no, the last chapter will not deal with their getaway. Or with Maze and Trixie's babysitting date.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maze and Lucifer return from their little getaway, and receive an unexpected, and unwanted, visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: violence.

The elevator doors opened, and the devil's voice rang out through the living room of the penthouse.   
  
"I still think we need to get a bigger shower."  
  
"And I'm not disagreeing. I'm just saying that you'd have to turn your whole bathroom into a shower for it to be big enough, and then you'd have no place for the bathtub and all the other stuff."  
  
Maze followed him as he stepped out of the elevator, carrying her overnight bag. A quick look around showed that the cleaning crew and the repair men had been busy during their time away. No trace remained of the destruction caused by Lucifer's fight with his brother. The bar had been restored to its old glory, and was once again fully stocked.  
  
The devil immediately took advantage of the fact, setting down his bag and proceeding to pour drinks for himself and his demon.  
  
"I know. And I like my current bathroom, but the shower is just too small. I need somewhere that allows me to shake out my wings without slamming into walls. Maybe we should see if we can convert one of the guest bedrooms."  
  
Maze contemplated that suggestion for a few moments before replying. "I've got a better idea. I ran into Claire and Richard the other day."   
  
Lucifer frowned in confusion at this seeming non-sequitur. His demon rolled her eyes and explained. "You know, the couple from the apartment directly below us. They're moving out at the end of the month, and apparently the next tenants dropped out of their lease agreement at the last minute."  
  
"So?" The devil still didn't see her point.  
  
"So, we could rent that apartment, put in a private staircase to connect it with this one, and have our wing-friendly shower room built down there."  
  
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "And what about the rest of the apartment?"  
  
Maze shrugged. "I'm sure we can come up with something. Didn't you say that you needed more space for your books? And we could turn part of it into our own private gym. After the last few days, regular exercise seems like a good idea."  
  
The devil was forced to agree. Their little getaway to stretch their wings had been great fun, but there had been times when they had both been so sore they'd hardly been able to move. And not in the fun way. Their wing muscles would need regular training, and while they wouldn't be able to fly indoors, a private gym would come in handy for various other exercises. Not to mention ground-based wing to wing combat training, if he knew his demon.  
  
"Alright, you have a point there. I'll call our landlord and make him an offer." He raised his glass at her. "To you, my darling."  
  
"To us."   
  
They drank to it, and then Lucifer wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer.   
  
"Now, how do you feel about dinner at that little Vietnamese place you like? And afterwards, we could go dancing."  He bent down and nuzzled the soft skin behind her right ear as he waited for her answer.  
  
But before Maze could say anything, they were interrupted by the whoosh of angelic wings. Lucifer's head shot up while his demon whirled around and drew her knives, ready to confront this new threat.  
  
Amenadiel was standing over by the couch. The moment she laid eyes on him, Maze gave a growl and attacked. Lucifer remained by the bar, content to watch her work off some of her anger at his brother, but ready to intervene should she need his assistance.  
  
The angel managed to block the punches, kicks and slashes the demon aimed at him. Lucifer noted with interest that his brother was reacting purely defensively, and not fighting back. A wise decision. Maybe he wasn't quite as much of an idiot as the devil had presumed.   
  
He immediately revised his opinion when Amenadiel opened his mouth and addressed the demon.  
  
"Maze, stop. I know you're angry with me, but this is useless. You know you can't hurt me."  
  
Lucifer shook his head at his brother's newly confirmed idiocy, while Maze snarled and attacked again with increased vehemence. Then he started in surprise. His demon's eyes were glowing red, burning with the fires of Hell. He couldn't help admiring just how sexy she looked like that, even as his mind was racing with the implications.  
  
Amenadiel's reaction to the sight was more severe. He froze completely, staring at the demon in horror, his mouth open and his eyes almost comically wide. It was a grave mistake.   
  
Seizing the opportunity, Maze kicked him right between the legs with her full demonic strength, making the devil wince in universal male sympathy. As Amenadiel doubled over, she brought up her knee and slammed it into his face. A vicious smirk spread across the demon's face as the crunch of the angel's nose breaking echoed through the room. He fell to the floor, one hand covering his face while the other clutched his groin.  
  
When it looked like Maze was preparing to continue her assault, Lucifer decided to step in.  
  
"Hold off a moment, my darling. As much as I enjoy watching you wipe the floor with my dear brother, I am curious why he decided to return here."  
  
She scoffed, but backed off, her eyes returning to their usual brown. "Because he's an idiot?"  
  
"Well, that much is obvious, especially since he gave another prime example of his idiocy just now. But since I don't think he is the suicidal kind of idiot, he has to have a reason for coming here. And I want to know what it is."  
  
By now, Amenadiel had recovered enough to lift his head, and was once again staring at Maze in horror.  
  
"Your eyes..." He turned towards the devil, groaning as the movement caused him pain. "Luci, what have you done?!"  
  
Lucifer's expression became cold. "What have I done, brother? I merely did what was necessary to save Mazikeen's life. You were the one who almost killed her, so don't you dare blame this on me. It is the result of your actions."  
  
"What are you two talking about?"   
  
Maze was glaring at them, and Lucifer could see the hint of uneasiness behind her obvious annoyance. He moved closer to her and bent down his head to whisper in her ear.  
  
"You went a bit red eyed there, just before giving him that kick he so richly deserved."  
  
"Red eyed?"  
  
She looked up at him quizzically, and he let his own eyes flicker with Hellfire for a moment.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Mhm." He bent down again, brushing his cheek against hers as he purred, "It was really hot. Looks like you definitely have a bit of the devil inside you now."  
  
Their little moment was interrupted by Amenadiel. "But that's impossible! You're a divine being, no matter how depraved and corrupted you've become. And she's a demon. It's impossible."  
  
Lucifer rolled his eyes as he looked down at his brother in contempt.   
  
"It obviously is possible, since the proof was staring you in the face just now, quite literally." His gaze turned cold and forbidding. "And before you make any more inane and offensive comments, please allow me to remind you that Maze is already seriously pissed off at you, and has just demonstrated rather forcefully that she is indeed capable of hurting you."  
  
Lucifer's eyes took on their hellish aspect. "And if you or any other member of the family harm her in any way, all Hell is going to break loose. Literally. That is a promise."  
  
Grim satisfaction filled him at the fear he saw lurking in his brother's eyes, below the shock and outrage.  
  
"You'd really do that? For a demon?!"  
  
The fire in the devil's eyes blazed, but his tone became deceptively mild. "You mean for the one being who stood by me when my whole family shunned and vilified me? The one who showed me more kindness and caring than all the members of my family, combined? Who left behind her home and the only life she had ever known to follow me to this plane. Who put up with my moods, my obsessions, my neglect of her, and still worried only about keeping me safe. The one who was willing to sacrifice her very existence to protect me. You mean that demon?"  
  
He glanced over at Maze and gave her a soft smile. "Of course I would. It's the least I owe her."  
  
His demon gave him a blinding smile, took a step forward, and kissed him. Lucifer reciprocated eagerly. After a few moments, he broke the kiss and turned his attention back to his brother. Amenadiel  was staring at them with a mixture of shock, revulsion, and more than a hint of jealousy. A smirk curved up the corners of the devil's mouth.  
  
"Especially since she had to put up with you for weeks, mister one-pump-chump. I definitely owe her a special reward for that."  
  
Now the angel was staring at Maze in horrified outrage. "You told him about that?!"  
  
The demon just shrugged and smirked. "Of course."  
  
Lucifer grinned broadly. "Oh yes. I asked her for detailed reports of all of your activities. I know everything. Every last little embarrassing detail."  
  
The look on his brother's face was priceless. Amenadiel was clearly realizing the fact that Lucifer had every intention of using his knowledge to torment him for the rest of eternity. It made the devil giddy with joy to think of the possibilities, and he allowed the giddiness to show. The throaty chuckle coming from his demon told him that she was enjoying the angel's suffering, too. He turned to her with a smile.  
  
"I really need to apologize for making you go through that, my darling. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make it up to you."  
  
Maze licked her lips and purred. "Oh, I can think of a few things. We haven't really had a chance to get out the toys and play lately."  
  
"Oh yes, we definitely need to remedy that. I might have a few suggestions for what you could do to me."  
  
He leaned in and placed a row of soft kisses along her jawline, finishing with a playful nip to her earlobe. Then he turned back to his brother once more. Amenadiel had pulled himself up into a sitting position. His broken nose had stopped bleeding and was already swelling up rather spectacularly. Bruises had begun to bloom all over it and below his eyes. Even with supernatural healing, he was going to be quite a sight for a while. It made Lucifer's heart swell with pride at his demon.  
  
"Speaking of playing, Maze told me you refused to let her play with your wings. Bad move, bro. She loves to get her hands on some angel wings, and the things she can do with them are absolutely marvelous. Positively divine. The stuff hymns should be written about."  
  
Maze laughed lightly. "You actually did that once. Remember?"  
  
"You're right, I did!" It had been a long time ago, back in Hell. He gave her a beaming smile and went over to his piano. "Let's see if I can still remember all of it."  
  
Before he could play more than a dozen notes, Amenadiel pushed himself to his feet and interrupted him.  
  
"Brother please. I need to talk with you about a most important and urgent matter."  
  
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "So you've finally decided to tell us what your visit is all about? Very well."  
  
Leaving the piano, he brushed past his brother and sat down in the nearest of the leather armchairs, then motioned for Amenadiel to take a seat on the couch. Maze settled herself on the left armrest of his chair. When several seconds passed in silence, Lucifer growled at the angel.  
  
"Start talking, brother."  
  
Amenadiel opened his mouth, but then hesitated and glanced significantly at Maze. Lucifer rolled his eyes in annoyance.  
  
"Whatever you want to tell me, Maze can hear it, too. We have no secrets from each other."  
  
The angel looked skeptical. "Is that so?"  
  
"Yes it is, goat-boy." Maze was smirking maliciously.  
  
The devil grinned as his brother swallowed hard and shot him an anxious look.  
  
"Yes, she told me about that, too. Rest assured, brother, there will be appropriate consequences in due time." He lost the grin and glared hard at the other man. "Now out with your reason for showing up here, Amenadiel."  
  
"I am here because an extremely dangerous situation has arisen, and I need your help to deal with it."  
  
Maze snorted derisively while Lucifer stared at his brother in disbelief. "After everything you've done, after all the pain and chaos you have caused, you seriously expect me to help you?! What, out of the kindness of my black, diabolical heart?"  
  
"No. I hoped you would be willing to help because you and everyone close to you are in danger. A soul has escaped from Hell, Luci. An extremely dangerous soul."  
  
"If it's your friend Malcolm you're worried about, I already cleaned up that mess of yours. He's back in Hell where he belongs."  
  
Amenadiel sighed. "No, this is not about Malcolm. The soul who escaped is infinitely more dangerous and powerful. I really need your help to deal with this, brother. Please."  
  
Lucifer looked at him in surprise. "You're afraid. You, dad's great warrior, are scared of one single escaped soul. What kind of soul could do this?"  
  
When his brother didn't answer, he leaned forward. "Amenadiel. Who escaped Hell?"  
  
The angel stared straight ahead, unseeingly.  
  
"Mom."  
  
Lucifer leaned back in his chair in shock. Beside him, Maze hissed in surprise and alarm. He looked up at her and saw his own apprehension echoed on her features. Automatically, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her against his side, offering silent reassurance. She turned her head and smiled at him, and Lucifer felt some of the dread leave him.  
  
No matter what the future would bring, they would get through it. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it. 
> 
> There will almost certainly be one short sequel set during their little getaway, possibly more.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be trying to update this on a weekly schedule.


End file.
